


The House on Hillside

by Dreams1723



Series: The House on Hillside [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Halloween, Haunted Houses, Haunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:00:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26967874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreams1723/pseuds/Dreams1723
Summary: Looking to prove a paranormal phenomena a group of Professors, a Psychic and a journalist come together to discover what's going on at Hillside Manor. Or T and C fall for each other while investigating a haunted house.
Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Series: The House on Hillside [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051211
Comments: 71
Kudos: 130





	1. Somebody's Watching Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first try at fanfiction but I was inspired by Halloween because who doesn't love ghosts and lesbians. I would also like to say I am in no way an expert on parapsychology. I also used a fake college for the story as well. Feel free to leave comments, I would love to know your thoughts! The action is coming in the next chapter. Happy Halloween!

It was bright that day with a soft breeze and only a cloud or so roaming the skies. It was a day better spent lounging in the sand or strolling in a park. The kind of days you get right before the air turns crisp and leaves turn to brilliant shades of reds and yellows. The moments right before Fall has hit the earth. And maybe the serenity of it all, the calmness and simple beauty of the day was what sent a shiver straight down Tobin’s spine. She knew of course it was more likely the innate number of horror movies her and her father had consumed while she was growing up. She had simply expected something more sinister like she had remembered from her childhood. And while glancing at the aging structure she felt a tingle shoot through her gut, she could not deny the beauty of the estate.  
Hillside Manor had been a staple in the community her whole life. While it sat on the outskirts of her town her and her sisters would ride their bikes to the home when they were children, hoping for a glimpse at the home’s supposed deadly residents. And maybe it was her love of all the ghost stories she consumed that had her believe that someone or something still resided inside the home. Her sisters however simply enjoyed the opportunity to scare the living daylights out of her.  
It looked the exact same as it had 20 years before. The three-story structure was graced with four long columns in the front of the house and a porch was wrapped around the first and second floors. It was stark white almost as if it had just received a fresh coat of paint, with blue shutters on the sides of multiple large windows surrounding the front of the home. It had been built in the 1903 and was now well over one hundred years old but Tobin still felt she could only describe the house as she had two decades before, alive. 

Tobin had met Professor Rapinoe a few times while out with her old college friend Ashlyn Harris. She honestly knew truly little about her or what she did at Portland East University. Simply that it was some part of the Psychology department there. What she had most recently learned though it that Megan liked to focus on parapsychology and was working on proof of a paranormal phenomenon. Which is why Tobin was now standing below the steps of the supposed haunted home.  
Tobin worked mostly as a photojournalist but did spend time doing freelance pieces, which led her to being offered her most interesting job to date. And while seven-year-old Tobin would have been jumping for joy for the opportunity to hunt for ghost, 27-year old Tobin figured she would get a good show and a paycheck.  
Ashlyn had offered to help her best-friend out and as a bonus bring her wife Ali. Ali was a local psychic, who mostly did readings for single woman and bored housewives in the area. While many claimed to not believe in Ali’s abilities, her client list included half the town. Tobin in honest did not know how much she believed in any of that either, but Ali was kind and didn’t appear to be someone looking to scam anyone out of some money. Plus, Ashlyn loved her dearly, so Tobin never questioned it.  
So, Megan, Ashlyn, Ali and Tobin would be spending the week in the old estate working to learn and hopefully capture proof of the paranormal. She had been surprised to learn the head of the Psychology Department Dr. Becky Sauerbrunn, who had approved this little study, would also be joining them. And while she felt uneasy about the details of the situation, she knew if she stuck it out, she’d get a story one way or another. 

She couldn’t tell if anyone else had arrived yet, the house appeared dark inside as she gradually walked up the front steps. Glancing at the intricate carvings on the large wooded front door she found herself hesitant to ring the doorbell. Stories from her childhood seemed to be holding her back but she wasn’t a kid anymore and she didn’t believe in ghost..  
“You know you have to ring the doorbell, so they know you are at the door.” Tobin jumped as whipped around the find the voice and she wasn’t prepared for what she saw. Dark curly hair and bright eyes accompanied with a smirk that she knew she’d be thinking about for days. She was wearing high wasted jeans with a jean shirt and hoops adorned her ears. Whoever the woman was she didn’t recognize her, but she was more than happy to meet her. Realizing she looked like an idiot staring at the woman she finally found her voice, “Guess I’m still a little afraid of haunted houses, truly thought I had gotten over it but here we are.”  
A beautiful sound fell from the woman’s mouth as she laughed at Tobin’s response. She was concerned to realize she very much wanted to make whoever this was laugh again and again if you could. “I’m Tobin and I wasn’t sure if anyone else had arrived yet. I honestly felt a bit weird going in alone I suppose.”  
“I’m Christen, knowing Megan she’s running behind but I am surprised that Becky is running late. Maybe someone is already inside?” Christen walked past her to ring the doorbell herself while trying not to smirk at Tobin again. The two sat in silence for a moment, Tobin was trying to figure out who exactly this woman was. While no one had mentioned anyone else coming, she wasn’t about to question it. In fact, she felt excited in the possibility of getting to spend a week with this stranger, hunting for ghost or not.  
As Christen looked to say something the door swung open this time making both women jump. The two looked at one another both clearly trying to act as if they were unbothered. That became more difficult as they realized no one was on the other side of the now open door. Tobin wanting to shake off whatever was starting to tighten in her stomach and honestly wanting to not come off quite so afraid in front of Christen took a tentative step into the home first.  
The front foyer was breathtaking with high ceilings and a grand staircase to near the middle of the room. The windows allowed sunlight to hit the light blue walls. To the right it seemed to lead to a sitting room as the left had a door leading to the other side of the large porch. Tobin checked to see that she was being followed and with relief only saw Christen behind her.  
“I guess we are the first to arrive. The place really is beautiful. I’m surprised the owners have kept it in such good shape. I mean no one has lived in this house for decades now.  
“I know, I guess I was expecting it to be a bit more…  
“Freaky? Covered in dust and cobwebs with pictures of dead people hanging on the walls?” Tobin laughed because that was exactly what she had imagined the inside to look like. It felt strange how new it almost all felt.  
“Well yes, I must say when I was promised I would be able to write a story about the ghost that reside in Hillside, I was expecting something a bit different, Christen turned and smiled at the journalist, “Do you also study parapsychology?” She giggled. She had giggled at her and Tobin’s breath caught in her throat for a moment. She couldn’t explain how much she already felt drawn to Christen. She had to snap out of it though. She had only met the woman fifteen minutes ago, she could be taken, hell she could be straight. Tobin prayed she was neither.  
“No, I do work at the University, but I teach English. So, I’ve analyzed a ghost story or so, but I’ve never been a part of one. Megan asked me to come along because of my knowledge on the home and its original owners. Although I’m not sure I’m cut out for ghost hunting at all.  
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think I’m cut out to be here either but now I can’t say I’m disappointed to be here.” It looks as if some heat has risen to Christen’s cheeks and Tobin can’t help but feel a little proud of herself for making the stunning woman blush.  
“So you don’t normally cover ghost stories then?  
“No, this will be my first. And I imagine my last as well.  
“What made you say yes to this in the first place? I mean I know Megan can be convincing but I’m still not sure how she got me to agree to this.  
“Honestly, I’ve been friends with Ashlyn since college and when she was trying to get me to agree to it, I figured it seemed like an easy enough gig.” Christen studies her almost as if she knows there is more to the story of what got Tobin here in the first place. It makes her nervous, good nervous and she selfishly hopes she can keep Christen’s attention while they are here. 

The door once again slams open almost hitting the entry wall but this time there is someone on the other side. Megan along with Ashlyn and Ali and a man who is fidgeting as he continues to glance at all the corners of the large room. “Chris you’re here! I’m so sorry we are late but I had to get some more equipment and then with luck we ran in to Matt here. His family owns the estate now and he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to come out today.” Tobin continues to watch the hesitant man and realizes if he had the choice he might not have ever come back to this house. Megan must have been very persistent when she got this poor fellow to return to the estate.  
“It’s all good, me and Tobin were just getting a little acquainted. I was even a little late myself. Matt Spencer is it? It’s nice to meet you, I actually wasn’t aware any of your family still lived in the area.  
“Yes, I well. Most of my family are in Hartford now but I come back a few times a year to check on how things are going here. My parents were nice enough to put me in charge when they retired.” Matt had finally seemed to calm down a bit as he began to glance at Christen. He wasn’t even pretending to not be checking her out. Tobin felt her blood boil a bit, she hadn’t even realized she had stepped closer to Christen until she had looked up and smiled at her.  
“Well Matt is was nice of you to agree on letting us stay here for a week. I must say I’m a little surprised though. This place has been close to the public for so long now and now your family is allowing a ghost hunt?” She had a good point. No one had come near the home since the Spencer’s fled to the East Coast when Tobin can only assume Matt was still a child. He looked uncomfortably at Megan for a moment before deciding to not leave Christen hanging. “Honestly, we have a buyer who is highly interested in the property. The only issue is, well he wants ghosts.” Tobin and Christen quickly caught each other’s eye and they digested this information. Tobin and Chris had both clearly been told very little about all the details of this little study.  
“What do you mean they want ghosts? I mean wouldn’t you normally not want your new house to be haunted?” Christen nodded along as Tobin asked the question. Both confused by what the plan was here.  
Matt was started to fidget again, “I supposed yes normally you would not want any ghosts in your home, I know that’s the way I prefer. But this buyer things he has a real opportunity here. Find a way to prove those who are said to haunt these halls are real and then sell the experience. Like a haunted house at Halloween only without the smoke and mirrors and with the real thing instead.” Tobin tried to keep her face neutral as she digested this information. She was starting to realize no one was playing around here. The people in this room except maybe herself and Christen were not only looking for ghost but were determined to find them and genuinely believed they would.  
“Tobin, Chris look it was the perfect opportunity. I have wanted to study this home for years. You know the history here CP and you and I both know what we could find here. It was honestly a win, win for everyone involved. I find proof of the paranormal, Matt’s family finally gets to sell this house and the buyer gets to create an experience of a lifetime.” Megan looked so proud of herself like she was trying to find Atlantis and knew somehow, she was going to get there. Christen and Tobin looked at each other again as Tobin wondered what they had gotten themselves into. 

An hour later everyone had settled into their rooms and had gathered in the sitting room. Tobin caught Christen had the bottom of the stairs and quickly grabbed her arm. Christen turned around looking at her with questioning eyes. “Hey, I’m sorry I just well, honestly you seem to be the only one here besides me who thinks all of this is a little strange. And I don’t know I guess I just wanted to say we could totally sprint out of here real quick and no one would notice at first. We could go grab a beer, talk about things that are alive and what not.” Tobin was only joking but if Christen actually said yes she knew she’d be out of this place in a heartbeat. The girl gave her a full smile as her whole face lit up. Tobin was close enough to see how green her eyes were. She was once again wondering how she could be so lucky to get stuck in a place with someone so beautiful.  
“If I’m being honest with you, I’d loved to take you up on that offer, but I’m committed now and I cant abandon Megan, even if I don’t feel good about any of this. Matt looks terrified and I keep thinking about how his family up and left so quickly. I think you and I both know something happened to him here.” Tobin was still stuck on her saying she’d love to leave and get a beer together but quickly realized she had been worrying about the same thing.  
“I don’t believe in ghost.  
“Are you just saying that to sound brave or so you don’t sound ‘crazy’ or do you just hope you’re right?” Tobin didn’t respond and she could tell Chris knew what the answer was. She didn’t believe in ghost and everything in her hoped she was right.  
Ashlyn and Megan were lounged out on one of two large sofas in the room. A fireplace sat cold and empty as a picture of what appeared to be the home itself hanging above it. Ali was looking intently at something on a table near the corner of the room and Christen walked over to talk to her.  
“Tobs! You got to admit this is pretty fucking cool right? I mean we’re going to find fucking ghost. Honestly if it weren’t for Ali and Pinoe I might be laughing my ass off at someone trying to do this but now I’m just excited we’re all here to experience it together.  
“I mean I can honestly say I never thought I’d be writing a story about paranormal activity, but I guess there are crazier things that could be happening, right?” Megan and Ash looked at Tobin like they weren’t sure how to respond to that.  
“Well I mean this is what I do for a job most days so for me not at all. But Tobin this is the real deal. I came here to find her and prove that she exists and I’m not leaving until I do. I would imagine to most people this might be one of the crazier things that we could all be doing with our time, but I’m so committed now, and I also know I’m right. I feel it already, I think she wants us to find her, it’s like she’s been waiting for us to arrive.  
“Her? You think the ghost is a woman? Wouldn’t happen to know her name would you?” It was then that Matt decided to rejoin the group now nursing a large glass of what seemed to be whiskey. “Evie, her name is Evie or Evangeline.” He glanced quickly around the room as he said it. Tobin was starting to think about what Christen had said earlier, something happened to Matt here and she was guessing it had to do with whoever this Evangeline was. Ali and Christen walked over as well.  
“You think Evangeline has been haunting Hillside all this time?” Now Tobin seemed to be the only one not in on whatever was going on. How did everyone know who this woman was? “Who is Evangeline”  
“She was the nanny of the original owners of this house. Jack and Veronica Waller moved into the house right after it was built in 1903 with their daughter Frances after arriving from London. The couple hired Evangeline a few months later and she lived with the family until they all disappeared in 1913. The home was left untouched for years after that. People looked for the family for a while, the police were involved but no one was ever found. Most just assumed they had returned to England.  
“Until the hauntings started. Plenty of stories were conceived about what happened in this home and to the family. I can’t believe you don’t know any of this Tobin, you’re from here and you told me you knew all about the house.” Everyone was looking at her now, she felt like she was the only person in the classroom who didn’t study for the popquiz. “Kids used to say stories about someone dying here or kids disappearing, but no one ever told us what actually happened in this house and my parents just always told us to stay away from it. There is also very little information about it anyone online or in newspaper archives.” She quickly turned to Christen now curious of her knowledge. “Christen how do you know so much about this place?  
She looked uncomfortable, like she hadn’t planned on being questioned about any of her insight on the history of the house. “My grandmother was fascinated with it, she always used to tell me the story about it.” It looked as if she wanted to say more but decided against it in present company.  
Megan decided to jump in before Tobin got the chance to ask Christen any more. “The most popular story, and Matt you can back me up on this, is that the Evie and Jack hated each other, and it eventually led to her killing Jack and the rest of the family before killing herself.” In that moment Tobin felt sick, a force rushed through her core and she needed to bend over for a second to catch her breath. She felt an arm around as she heard Christen whisper if she was alright. Tobin could only look over at the startled girl. Worry seem to be pouring from her eyes and Tobin realized how much that sudden feeling must have affected her. She glanced up and noticed Matt was barely moving, he looked at her with a horror in his eyes. He looked at her like he knew exactly what she had just felt.  
Tobin slowly leaned back up but allowed herself to lean slightly on Christen, she was happy to notice that Chris took all her weight and held on to her tightly. “I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me, I honestly felt like the wind was knocked out of me.” She didn’t want to look at the faces of those around her, knowing what she would find there. She didn’t believe in ghost.  
“Tobin was the feeling that hit you cold?” Ali looked at her quizzically.  
“I don’t know, maybe slightly. Why you think it was Evie upset with us for gossiping about her?” Tobin tried to joke, wanted so badly to make this all into a joke. Except no one was laughing with her. Christen began to guide her to the sofa not being occupied and carefully sat her down before turning away to go get something. Tobin had grabbed her hand wanting her to stay and Chris gave her a small smile before pulling it back. Megan was looking at her like she was afraid to say the wrong thing. It was now clear that while Tobin had agreed to this, she wasn’t so quick to fall into ghost narrative just yet. Christen came back over with a glass of water and sat down close beside her. She knew there were more important things going on at the moment, but she could not stop the warm feeling of knowing Christen was worried about her.  
“Tobin, Look I know that ghost and the supernatural are a lot for most people to take. And I know it’s easier to sit here and act like it’s a joke but I believe in what I am doing and I really want you here to help tell this story but I need you to take it seriously. Because to me it’s the most serious thing in my life right now.” Tobin immediately felt guilty. As much as she wasn’t the girl who believed in ghost, this was Megan’s job and she didn’t want to be the reason something fucked up. “I’m sorry, this is just a lot. But I’m here and I’m happy to tell this story for you, no matter how it ends up.” 

“So, is Matt staying for the whole week as well? Because between you and me I don’t think that guy is gonna last another hour in this house.  
“I don’t think he would stay a night in this house if you paid him a million dollars. I do wish he would tell us more before he left. I keep waiting for him to, I mean why else is he still here? He jumps out of his skin every time someone makes the floor creak.  
“Are you worried about staying the night here?” Tobin said it with a smile but there were nerves behind it. Christen just looked at her for a moment. Everything had calmed down from earlier. Megan and Ashlyn were going through some reports. Ali was trying to get a read on some of the rooms on the first floor and her and Christen…well her and Christen were getting more acquainted. Tobin would be lying by now if she didn’t admit to her motivation of wanting to stay was coming from her motivation to learn more about this beautiful, curly haired English professor who was making her body and her mind work into overdrive. “I’d say I’m a pretty rationale person so to answer your question yes and no. I know that realistically, more than likely there is nothing going on in this house and we will all be fine. But I am also acknowledging that strange things seem to happen here, and I don’t know what force may be causing them, but I’d like very much for none of us to get caught up in it.”  
“Would you think I was lame if I told you that I’m thankful for whatever force brought me here to meet you?” Twice, it was twice now that Tobin had made Christen’s glowing dark skin, rush with heat. She knew she was being forward. Hell, she had only me the girl a few hours ago, but she wasn’t dumb enough to waste an opportunity like this. She knew from experience, from past girlfriends and spending more time than she would like on the dating scene, that you don’t just meet girls like Chris anywhere. And you certainly don’t get chances to somehow make her want to give you a shot as well. So, she made a little pact to herself. She’s help Megan find her ghost; she’d write her story for all to see but she would also allow herself to get to know this girl. And hopefully somehow at the end of this maybe they would all get what they wanted. 

“Okay Megan, I think it’s time I head out, but Lydia, our housekeeper, will be here tomorrow to help you with anything. And when you find something, call me.” Tobin could tell he wanted to say more as he took a last look around at all of us. “Don’t go wondering around alone at night. There are things in this house that will not just send shivers down your spine.  
“What exactly do you mean Matt?  
“The Waller family aren’t the only people to disappear from this place.” Tobin felt someone grip her hand as he said it and looked up to the worried eyes of Christen. Then without another word he was gone. Tobin took a deep breath and squeezed Chris’s hand to reassure her. After all Tobin didn’t believe in ghost. 

Eventually they decided it was best to get a good night’s rest before getting to work tomorrow. Tobin took her time, wanting to get a good look around one last time before heading upstairs. She thought back to what Matt had said before he had left, whatever the Spencer family had gone through in this house was still haunting the man. She looked up as Christen called out goodnight, her smile somehow had only gotten prettier. Tobin smiled back telling her the same. She watched as she ascended the stairs to head to her room when she felt it again. This time she would defiantly define it as cold as it clung to the back of her neck. She couldn’t breath and felt paralyzed to the spot. It was only with her for a moment though, but before it left, she heard one thing simply whispered in her ear, “Get her out.”


	2. Creep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin and Chris get to know each other a little more and Tobin is lead to a surprising discovery.

A soft knock on Tobin’s door pulled her out of a light slumber. She hadn’t slept well last night, trying too hard to convince her mind she wasn’t hearing whispers in her ear. The phrase get her out was still ringing in her brain as she tried to process the noise coming from her door. Dragging her feet slowly across the floor, she knew a part of her was afraid of what was on the other side. She let out a breath of relief when she saw Christen smiling shyly at her. Her hair was now up in a tight bun and she wore a lose fitting t-shirt and sleep shorts that showed her long athletic legs. Tobin realized she had been staring and quickly looked into Chris’s eyes. She refused to think about how soft her legs looked, she refused to think about how they would feel wrapped around Tobin’s body.   
“Sorry if I woke you up, I just really wanted some coffee and well I didn’t won’t to go downstairs alone.   
“Don’t worry about it, I was pretty much awake, and I could really use some coffee too.” Christen grinned at her and damn if it didn’t hit Tobin right in her gut. The two walked slowly down the hall not wanting to disturb anyone still asleep in the house. Tobin went to look over at Chris and it caused her to miss the first step at the top of the long staircase, luckily Christen was able to reach over and grab the her arm and pull her in by the waist before she went tumbling down to the main floor. “Tobin are you okay? Did you trip over something?   
“No, uh I honestly don’t know what just happened. I think I just missed the step. Thanks for saving me, that’s a long way down.” Christen studied her, she tried to smile but she could see the worry behind her eyes. “Maybe the house doesn’t like me.” She meant it as another joke, but Chris looked to concern to laugh at it.   
“Honestly Chris, you’ll learn I’m just a clutz sometimes. I promise to try really hard not to fall down any steps today.” Tobin could tell Christen didn’t really trust her, and to be fair she was lying to her. Of course, there was no way she was telling Chris, she was fairly sure she just felt hands pressed up against her shoulder blades right before she slipped. Instead of thinking about it too hard, she decided to shake off and blame it on not being that lucid. Tobin reasoned she had barely slept the night before and she hadn’t even been given any coffee yet. Her mind was just having too much fun with her, being overactive in such an odd situation. 

Once they had managed to safely get down the rest of the stairs, they noticed noises coming from the kitchen area. Tobin glanced over at Christen and realized she looked as surprised as Tobin. She didn’t mean to let how the high-pitched squeal, especially not in front of Chris, but Tobin had know idea who the figure was moseying about the kitchen and quite honestly she was still a bit on edge. Christen tried to cover the laugh that escaped her, but it was no use. Tobin wanted to feel embarrassed, but she was too mesmerized by the sound coming out of the beautiful woman and the way her eyes squinted softly. Once the dark skin beauty got a hold of herself she introduced Tobin to the one who caused her little outburst.   
“Tobin this is Becky. She’s the head of the Psychology department at the school and is for some reason messing around in the kitchen incredibly early this morning.” They both turned to look at the woman who was hiding a smirk of her own. Keeping it together she walked over to properly introduce herself.  
“I’m sorry, I was supposed to arrive last night, but I got caught up at the office. I couldn’t sleep so I decided to go ahead and get over here. I knew Megan would be quite eager to get started. It’s nice to meet you Tobin, we really appreciate you being here. I’m sure this is the oddest job you have ever had.” She had a kind smile, Tobin assumed she was the one who had the solid head on her shoulder, hoping to reign in Megan if it came to that. Something about her prescence made Tobin feel better about the situation.  
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry about the yelling, I’ve been a little on edge since I got here. Turns how haunted houses are as creepy as you would expect them to be.” Chris and Becky glanced at each other and gave another small laugh.   
Tobin looked around hoping to spot coffee somewhere, she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle Megan and Ashlyn together as well as the horrifying possibility someone was trying to communicate with her. She had to stop before the voice could appear banging around in her brain. She looked over at Christen once again as she discussed something with Becky, only this time right past her outside the window was a man. He wouldn’t look away from Christen, he was like he was studying her. Tobin was confused. She couldn’t remember anyone else that was supposed to be coming to the home. Although Matt had mentioned to them the grounds keeper could come to check on things. Before the Tobin could ask the two women if they knew the man, his cold eyes looked over at her. She felt paralyzed, her breath caught in her throat as the man stared her down. As he continued to look her over, she heard the voice once again, “get her out..” The man gave her one last look and with a sly smile walked away and out of her view. Tobin felt sick and she couldn’t quite understand why. She wanted to know who that man was, she also wanted to pretend someone wasn’t whispering in her ear again. After looking over and seeing Christen watching her she gave her a tight smile and realized who ever was talking to her wanted Christen out of this house, and she expected Tobin to be the one to take her. 

In truth she didn’t want to mention the man. It was frustrating to her that she seemed to be the only one affected by this house. She also decided she didn’t want to get Megan’s hopes up. Sure some weird things had been happening to her since she stepped foot in this place, but Tobin still was on the fence with this whole ghost thing and wasn’t sure it wasn’t just her mind playing tricks on her. She had spent so much of her childhood watching and reading ghost stories, hell her sisters and her made up ghost stories about Hillside Manor all the time. She wasn’t ready to commit to the idea that something was actually happening here, and selfishly she didn’t want to scare away Chris.   
So, as the rest of the group eventually made their way down from their bedrooms, Tobin kept her mouth shut. She listened to Megan’s plans and decided to simply do what was asked of her.   
“Okay, I think it’s important we focus on places important to the Waller family. So Christen any clue what rooms belonged to them or any area they liked to frequent.  
“Megan how on earth would Chris know that, most people don’t even know the family name and your asking where they liked to spend their afternoons?” Ashlyn gave a soft snort but quieted down after Ali swatted her arm. Christen gave Tobin a small smile before turning to Megan. “I’m not sure about what room everyone stayed in, but I do know Veronica loved the garden. Gran said she liked to spend hours out there, sometimes watching Frances play other times to just sit and think. As for Jack he had an office that he spent most of his days locked inside, apparently, he was very about his work, I’m not sure where in the house it is though. As for Evie she liked to spend most of the time reading in the home library.” Tobin gave Christen an incredulously look, she didn’t mean to, she was simply just stunned by the answer. She had to figure out why Chris knew so much about the original family and more importantly why any of it mattered to her.   
“Perfect CP, I knew we could count on you. So, game plan, Chris why don’t you take Tobin to the garden just get a feel for it. Me and Becky will check out the library and Ali I want you and Ash to try and find Jack’s office and see if you get any sort of reading there.” The group following Megan’s lead began to split off through the house. Christen looked slightly uncomfortable as she nodded her head towards the door that would lead them out to the garden.   
Tobin wondered again if the unsettling man she had seen through the window was in fact a grounds keeper, this place was very upkept…and no one had lived here in decades. She shook off the image of the man and took a closer look at the garden before her. It didn’t seem like much of a garden to her, more of a nice area cleared out from high grass and trees. There was a wooden bench that looked newly painted pristine white, and a swing hung from the large oak next to the area. It had a calming feel to it and she could imagine days enjoying the feeling of the sun soaking in your skin. She could see why it would be a favorite of someone who lived in the house. Now she just wanted to find out why Christen knew that in the first place.   
She sat down on the bench and lifted her hand to invite Chris to sit next to her. Unlike last night, Christen made sure there was space between the two. “You don’t have to tell me anything, I mean we just met last night and I’m not asking for you to tell me anything.” That much was true, sure Tobin was dying to learn more about Christen and what her connection to this place was, but she also understood it wasn’t her place to push the issue. That sat in silence for a moment, a calm breeze had begun, and Tobin took the opportunity to lift her head toward the sky and just feel the moment. It was so different then the harsh chills she had experienced inside the home. If there was any sort of presence out here, it didn’t seem to be threatening.   
“Tobin I do want to explain everything to you. Yes, it’s true we just met but I feel like I’m safe sharing things with you. I can’t really explain why…I think it may be your eyes.  
“My eyes?” Christen was smiling at her now, she felt it inside of her again, she tried to reign it in but it felt too late for that now.   
“That sounded a little silly didn’t it? I just think the eyes are so important. My gran used to always say no matter how good a person is at lying, the eyes always tell you the truth. And while I don’t think that’s always true, I do think the way she look at a person tells you things.  
“Are you trying to say you can see into my soul.” Chris leaned over and smacked Tobin’s arm as they both laughed together.   
“You say it like it’s a joke, but I’ve always felt that was a real part of it.  
“Maybe it’s just too easy to look into your eyes Chris, I think I might have gotten lost a time or two already.” Tobin didn’t mean to go there, but now that she had, she hoped Christen would pick it up.   
“That’s really cheesy Tobin, I expected better from you.  
“So, your boyfriend doesn’t say lame stuff like that around you all the time?” This time she received a full smirk from the curly haired beauty and boy did Tobin want to run her hands through those beautiful locks.   
“That might be the lamest way I’ve ever been asked if I was taken and straight. But I appreciate that you knocked it out with one question.” She only continued to smile at Tobin, refusing to put her out of her misery. Tobin knocked their shoulders together, “Come on you have to at least give me an answer now. I could have just awkwardly tried to piece it together all week. You should be thanking me for getting it over with.” Christen laughed out loud as she began shaking her head.   
“You’re impossible Tobin Heath. But you have made a decent point. I don’t have a boyfriend. And I will never have a boyfriend.” Tobin grinned brightly at her. “So, you like the ladies?” Tobin couldn’t help but lift her eyebrows suggestively at the girl who was now rolling her eyes at Tobin. “Yes Tobin, I like women.” Tobin just kept grinning at her, “I like women too.” Christen quickly got up off the bench and began to walk farther away from the house, she turned back at Tobin to simply tell her, “You don’t say.” 

Tobin had gotten up to follow the girl as she made her way closer to a wooded area of the property. They had been walking side by side in silence, occasionally, their hands grazing the other. “What are we looking for Chris?” The woman took a moment to respond, “I don’t know Tobin, maybe a feeling or maybe a sign? I can honestly say I’ve never hunted for ghost or spirits before. But I will say this might be my favorite part of the estate. I can see why Veronica would want to spend her days out here.”   
“So you like to spend you time outdoors, noted.” Christen didn’t respond but she did look over to give Tobin a small smile at the comment. “Have you ever flirted this much during an assignment before?”   
“Never really been a point to flirt before.  
“Oh, why is that?”  
“I’ve never met a girl like you during a story before.” Tobin smiled smugly at her hoping to get any kind of positive reaction. “Hmm…but you have met a girl like me outside of your work before?” Tobin groaned loudly, causing a small chuckle to escape Chris’s mouth. She decided to be honest, “No, I’ve never met a girl like you before.” The walked a little further down before Christen chose to respond, “Tobin you barely know me.” She stopped walking then and grabbed Christen’s arm so she would turn to look at her. “I’m trying really hard to change that.” 

It was mid-afternoon before they all reconvened in the sitting room. Tobin realized they might not have been helpful this morning. The two spending most of the time simply talking, about anything and everything. She hoped Megan wouldn’t expect much from sending them simply to the garden. She wasn’t even really sure what they were expected to find out there.   
“So me and Ashlyn think we found the office, but it’s locked. We tried to jimmy the door, but nothing was working. I felt really negative energy from the area though, so if I think we might want to focus there tonight.”   
“Are spirits more active at night?” Ali looked over a gave Tobin a kind smile, she could tell the woman appreciative that Tobin didn’t say spirits as a question. “Actually, it can completely depend on the spirit itself. Some are active at all times others find more comfort in the dark.” Tobin felt something crawling up her back but remained still, she knew if she checked nothing would be there. “Comfort in the dark? What’s comfortable about that?” Ali gave her another smile happy to enlighten her these subjects. “It comes down to so much Tobin, maybe they died in the dark and haven’t found a way to find comfort in the light. Some may simply seek pleasure in knowing that humans find discomfort in the dark. They don’t have to adjust their eyes, but we do. If it’s a negative force it could simply see that as an advantage.” Tobin felt sick again and was starting to feel multiple things crawling along her back. She wasn’t sure if she could properly take a breath, but she worked to stay calm. No one was really paying her any attention, well except Christen who had a look on her face like she was trying awfully hard to read Tobin right now. Focusing on Chris helped to calm Tobin down and slowly her skin felt clear and her lungs filled with air. Tobin realized she wasn’t very fond of the thought of these spirits in the day, she didn’t know how she would be able to handle them at night.

“Hey, you looked a little freaked earlier are you doing okay?” Christen rubbed her hand gently up and down Tobin’s back, her touch felt electric to the woman and she found herself trying to just respond. “Yeah, look I know I’ve been pretty obvious about my discomfort here, and maybe that’s on me being the only that believed we weren’t going to find any ghost.”   
“So, now you believe in ghost?  
“I don’t not believe in ghost.” Tobin wasn’t sure how to make sense of the feelings she had been getting since she entered this house, and between the voice and the man who’s long face kept slipping in her mind…Tobin realized she wasn’t really at a point to deny any of this anymore. She still wanted to remain quiet and simply be helpful to the group, but her opinion on ghosts might be slightly different now.   
“Tobin look I want to be honest with you. Something terrible happened in this house. I can’t exactly explain how I know that, but I don’t want anything to happen to you. So, if you could just stay close and listen to everything Megan and Ali say. They are the experts here and I just need you to trust me on this one. I promise I’ll tell you everything, I just need some time if that’s okay.”  
Tobin couldn’t quite believe she barely knew this girl, it felt like they had gotten to a place that shouldn’t have happened so quickly. Sure, she was thankful of it because there were no denying her obvious feelings and attraction towards the woman, but she knew she needed to be careful about this.   
“It may not make much sense, but I trust you completely Chris. I won’t ask you questions but I hope you know that I’m hear and ready to listen whenever you’re ready to tell me all of this. Besides why would I give up the opportunity to be close to you?” Tobin felt like she needed to make the situation lighter, something was off in this house and it was worrying Christen. Tobin found a slight urge to tell Christen about what she had heard, and everything she had felt in this house but stopped it as it hit the tip of her tongue. She didn’t won’t to worry her when it could still just be in Tobin’s head. 

“So, who knows how to break into a locked room? I don’t think Matt would be too pleased with me if I broke down one of the doors?”   
“Why don’t we all just go look? Maybe we will be able to figure something out.” They all shrugged and began heading for the back of the house. When they reached the door everyone just stared at it for a moment. Tobin didn’t want to be rude but wasn’t sure how this was accomplishing anything. She pushed slightly passed Megan and reached for the doorknob. She wasn’t exactly skilled at breaking into things, but she had picked a lock or two in her time and it seemed like the opportunity to be helpful. Only Tobin didn’t need to pick any lock, the doorknob simply turned when she grabbed it and she was able to push the door right open.   
Everyone stared at the woman like she had grown a third head. Tobin found it a little unnecessary after all she just opened a door. Why had she tried in the first place, clearly it got jammed when Ash and Ali had tried earlier. It was more than likely who ever tried to open that door would have been able to just like Tobin. “I’m not trying to start anything Tobs really, but how the hell did you just open that door? Me and Ali were trying all afternoon and it would never budge.” Tobin felt uncomfortable again, she didn’t want to draw attention to herself here. And she didn’t have an answer because she didn’t know why the door opened for her. How could she?  
“Maybe you and Ali just did all the hard work and now it finally opened. I mean it’s not like Tobin has magical powers here.” She felt thankful that Chris stepped in for her, and she was right, Tobin didn’t have magical powers she just opened a stupid door. Everyone seemed to accept the answer as they filed into the office, but Tobin caught the way Ali looked at her, she couldn’t figure out if it was fear or understanding. Truthfully Tobin wasn’t interested to know either way. 

The office was probably the oldest looking part of the house they had come across. Whoever took care of the estate kept it in top shape, but this room seemed neglected almost frozen in time. The large desk sat right in the middle of the room and was covered in old papers. The bookshelves surrounding the walls were covered in books that seemed to be as old as the home. There was a dark curtain pulled partially covering the window to the back yard. If you removed the dust covering every surfaces it would appear as if someone had been working in here only yesterday. It felt as if someone left in the middle of doing something with the full intention to return, but never getting the chance to.   
“It looks like this room hasn’t been touched in years, I mean dude what the fuck is all the dust and shit…the rest of this house looks like it’s cleaned at least once a week.” Ash was right, this room clearly hadn’t had any visitors in quite a while. Tobin looked over and Chris as if they were thinking the same thing. Was Tobin the first person to be able to open that door in the last 100 or so years. And if that was true why was she the one who could get in? 

“Guys, these papers are dated…damn I can barely see what it says. Does anyone have good eyesight here?” Everyone in the room just froze and looked at each other, Chris shrugged her shoulders and glided over to wear Megan was holding the papers. It took her a moment but when she glanced up she looked right at Tobin, “They are dated 1913. October 12th, 1913. There dated the day the Waller family is believed to have gone missing.” Tobin turned around to get a breath only to find herself staring at the same cold eyes that had paralyzed her earlier in the kitchen. The man was watching again from outside the window, but instead of watching Christen like before, his entire focus was on Tobin. Once he saw her watching him back he gave Tobin a big smile and nodded his head towards the bookcase on the far left of the room. He stared at her patiently, clearly waiting for her to make her move to whatever he had wanted to show her. She looked around and nobody seemed to notice her or the man watching them from beyond the glass. Tobin slowly made her way over to the shelf he had indicated unsure of what she would find and silently praying it was nothing.   
It took her a moment before it caught her eye. They grew large as she glanced at what the man had clearly wanted her to find. How had none of them seen this yet? Tobin got an eerie feeling the man made sure she was the only one to see the picture. She dusted it off to get a clearer look hoping that her eyes were playing tricks on her. Praying that the man was in her imagination and what she was seeing in this picture frame wasn’t real. She looked at it for a second longer before looking back out at the window. To her discomfort the man was waiting patiently for her reaction. He seemed thrilled with the revelation he had just led Tobin to and gave her a gleeful smile before walking into the night. Tobin waited until she could no longer see the man before once again glancing down at the picture. Her throat felt tight as she gazed upon the beauty, but this woman wasn’t the one she had been slowly falling for across the desk from her, no this woman was from a different time. Her dress and hair indicated that it had to have been from around 100 years ago. But while the woman clearly was not from this time, her face was an exact match for Christen.


	3. Disturbia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris finally shares her secret with Tobin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little update, I want to get the whole story up before Halloween!

Tobin found herself silently placing the photo behind a few books on the shelf, while she wasn’t certain how she felt about it, she wasn’t ready to share it with the rest of the group just yet. She knew she needed to speak with Christen but now wasn’t the time. She turned back to the group still glancing at files on the desk. Tobin willed herself to look calm, but the cold smile of the man from the window and the photo of Chris were rotating in her mind. A part of her was desperate to make sense of what she was seeing while another part of her longed to get out of this house and never come back. She might have done just that, but Tobin knew there was no way she was leaving Chris behind.   
No one was paying her much mind until Christen looked up and caught Tobin’s eye. She could tell by the curious look she was getting that Tobin was being as blasé as she thought she was. Christen dropped the sheet of paper on the table to walk over to the woman. “Hey, are you okay? You kind of look like you saw a ghost.” Tobin took a deep breath and forced herself to laugh it off.   
“Very funny Chris...I’m fine really, I just think it’s been a long day. And I didn’t sleep great last night so it’s probably all catching up to me.” Christen didn’t look convinced…Tobin was getting a little annoyed with herself. She had to stop showing every single emotion on her face before everyone started asking questions. Chris put a comforting hand on Tobin’s back and she found herself relaxing into it. She was trying to ignore the fact that every time Christen’s hand found a part of Tobin…her whole body felt a rush of heat. If she wasn’t so freaked out, Tobin was sure she would be blushing again.   
“Okay so I guess it’s safe to assume that at least Jack never left this house, or at least not the property. Maybe he heard Evie attacking Veronica and she killed them both.” A sharp burst of wind shot through Tobin’s stomach and for a moment she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand. Christen noticing slowly moved her hand to the woman’s waste and held on tightly. Once again Tobin’s mind was thrown in two drastically different directions. While Chris continue to bring a rush of warmth through her, whatever kept trying to communicate with her was cold and harsh. She tried to cling to the feeling that Christen was leaving her with.   
“I think at this point we can only assume he died here…it wouldn’t be fair to Evie if she was innocent in all of this and I imagine her spirit wouldn’t respond well to your judgement Megan.” Becky tried to hide her smirk as Ali reprimanded the woman. Megan choosing in that moment to be diplomatic turned to Christen. “Okay CP, it’s your time to shine now. What do we know about this Evie?” Christen squeezed Tobin’s hip once more before pulling away to look fully at the rest of the group. “From what I’ve been told, she was very kind and loved the family very much. To think she might have hurt Frances seems unlikely from what I know. She and Jack didn’t get along as much but there is nothing to show that might indicate that she could have killed him.” Christen took a moment to glance at Tobin like she knew what she must be thinking. And Tobin was thinking…thinking about how much Christen knows about this family. She desperately wants to know what she is hiding. She knows that she will need Chris to start answering questions soon. Tobin only had to think back to the look on the man’s face to know they probably didn’t have much time to figure anything out. And selfishly she just wanted to know who Christen was because she knew that if this girl was involved, she was all in and damn that scared her. 

“Okay Chris is there any other information about this family that we need to know? Anything to give us a good lead? I mean this room is clearly the best place to try and communicate with Jack but is there something else we are missing?” Christen seemed to be avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room, she wasn’t ready to reveal her secret yet that was for sure. “I mean why does it matter anyway Megan?” She could see Chris give a small smile from the side…Tobin wasn’t being shy about it anymore. She was deflecting for the beautiful girl, with the glowing dark skin and bright green eyes that maybe Tobin couldn’t stop daydreaming about. “Well for one Tobin, I thought it would be helpful for you. I mean you’re the journalist here. I was trying to make sure you had a complete story to go along with everything that we hope to find here.” Now Tobin felt a little awkward…she knew Megan was right. She would need something to go with this story. The problem was between the cold chills, and the whispers, the man with the cold smile and the most beautiful woman she had every met Tobin had barely thought about the story she was supposed to write when all of this was done. Tobin was learning that it was pretty hard to concentrate on work when you’re the only person in a haunted house that seems to be getting haunted and a desperate gay all at the same time.   
“Well of course, that would be nice to have when I put the article all together but what else do you really need it for?”   
“I think I can answer that one. You see Tobin we need to find where their energy is strongest. If this is the place where Jack spent most of his days, it would make sense that his spirit would be pulled here.” Ali looked around searching for what she wanted to say next. “Tobin, did you have a spot that you liked to go to a lot when you were growing up? Maybe a space you could just enjoy time with yourself.” Tobin didn’t really want to be used as the example here, “I mean yeah there was a little nook in on a second floor, I go there to get away from everyone or to read and what not.” Ali gave her a sweet smile, while the others continued to look around. Clearly, they didn’t need the lesson Ali had to decide to give Tobin.   
“While we are a live most of us find places that call to our energy. We allow them to become our safe spaces, sometimes they are rooms, sometimes they are whole cities and lots of times they are people. Your energy connects to these places or people and it only grows the longer you allow yourself to be attached to it. If you were to have died in your childhood home and you found that you couldn’t move on it would make sense for your spirit to cling back to the energy of that place or person. If you were confused or upset because now, you’re a spirit wouldn’t you want to go back to a place that brought you comfort? And if you stay in this world that wasn’t made for you, eventually your energy becomes attached to that place or person or object. And so, say after a hundred years, it would be much more likely for a spirit to still be wherever that comfort was for them. It seems Jack might have spent most days in here, and it would make sense that the door was locked because we were trying to disrupt his comfort.” As much as Tobin knew this ghost thing was not for her, what Ali was saying made sense, but she couldn’t help but wonder about something else. “I think I get that all Ali but if that’s the case with this office, why hasn’t he tried to make us leave and also why was I able to open that door?” Everyone was paying attention to the two’s conversation now. Christen looked particularly interested in what Tobin had just said, she wondered if the woman had been wondering the same thing.   
Out of nowhere Ashlyn decided to give her input on the question at hand, “Clearly he wants to show you something.” Tobin’s eyes flashed to Chris’s and it seemed that they each had the same question in their heads, why Tobin? 

The group decided tomorrow they would allow Ali to work to connect with certain areas of the house, while Megan wanted to plan a calling to the spirit that might be occupying that area of the house. Tobin just wanted to close her eyes and wake up at home in her own bed. She walked Chris to her door wanting to ask what she thought about all this, but she held her tongue. “Thanks for walking me to my door.” Tobin gave her as much of a smile as she could. “It be rude of me to not escort a lady to her room, especially when there are ghost possibly creeping about. Chris gave her a stiff smile, they both knew what Tobin was trying to do but it wasn’t working for either of them. Tobin reached out for Christen’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze as she tried not to think about how well the woman’s long slender fingers fit in her own. “Be careful Tobin, please for me.” Tobin gave her hand one more squeeze. “I’m just going to my room to sleep Chris, what could happen?” Chris reached up and smacked her arm, “seriously Tobin you can’t just say that in a haunted house! Have you ever watched a horror film?” Tobin gave her a real smile this time. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to worry about me. I know I’ve been a lot but I promise I won’t let anything happen to me.” Chris didn’t seem to find any of it funny. “You swear?” Tobin gave her hand a final squeeze before letting go making a promise she realized she wasn’t sure she could keep, “I swear.”

The next morning Tobin knew she had to show the picture to Christen, if only for her own state of mind. While she got more sleep that night her brain was still working overtime and the photo was on a constant spin in her head. The group gathered again trying to decide which was the best tactic to take for the day. Megan wanted to wait until they had found all the information they could before they really tried communicated with any spirits that may be in the home. Ali felt she needed to get a better feeling for the place as a whole and Becky while staying professional was starting to get a little impatient. It seemed while she knew the plan was the best form of action, a small part of her was dying to get to the action of it all. Tobin was most surprised by her and wondered if there had been a past instant in Becky’s life where things got a little murky and no one was there to get her any answers. Or maybe she was secretly testing the whole group, trying to decide which one of them would crack first and which one of them would take it too far.   
Tobin knew she had to get Chris back in the office today, she needed to show her the picture. She hoped it would help Christen open up about whatever she was trying to hide from them since she arrived at this house. She trusted her fully, but she was on high alert for another visit from the man with the cold smile and she was worried Chris was the only that could truly help her figure out what was going on in this house.   
“So, I was thinking that I might try another sweep of Jack’s office. I think if we really spent some time going through all the details maybe we could find something we don’t know we are missing.” In truth Tobin just needed to get Chris alone in that room, even if no part of her wanted to step back into it. She shouldn’t have been so surprised when everyone began looking at her funny. Christen seemed to be searching her eyes for an answer.   
“I mean that’s a great idea Tobs but are you sure you want to do it. I’m sure one of use could do that today.” Tobin realized now they may all have already decided who was going to crack first…her.   
“It’s no big deal and then maybe I’ll have more for my story like you said. And it makes me useful because honestly I’m not much help.” Megan sat on her answer for a second seeming to look for the real reason Tobin wanted to go back in that room, “Well thanks Tobin that would be really helpful did you want Christen to come with you.”   
“Yes! I mean yeah, I think I could obviously use some help and since she knows the most about this place.” Christen continue to look at her curiously but followed her to the back of the house none the less.   
“Tobin is everything okay? I mean you seemed so uncomfortable in here last night.”   
“Are you going to ask me that every day now?” Tobin didn’t want to be annoyed but she wasn’t a baby. “Tobin I wasn’t trying to upset you; I just didn’t want you to do anything you didn’t want to.” Tobin took a deep breath. She needed her mind to stop for two seconds. She didn’t want to argue with Chris, she just wanted to figure out what the hell was going on.   
“It’s fine, I just can tell everyone is waiting for my next freak out and it’s a little annoying. But I don’t study the paranormal or communicate with the dead and this is a lot.” Christen went to rub her hands up and down Tobin’s arms trying to comfort the woman. “I know Tobin, no one expects you to handle this. What’s happening here isn’t normal okay. Honestly, I’m impressed you are here. Most people would have laughed in Megan’s face and wouldn’t have come near this property.”  
That calmed Tobin and she found herself ready to spill every little thing she had been keeping from Christen. But she wanted to keep her cards close for a little while longer, she needed to see Chris’s reaction to the photo. She needed to know what Chris was hiding from her. She hoped they would somehow be able to help each other out of whatever they had gotten themselves into.  
“I found something last night. I wanted to show you, but I also wanted us to be alone. I don’t know how you are going to react to this and honestly I’m still reeling a little from it myself.” Chris just stared at her like she couldn’t figure out what Tobin could possibly need to show just her. Tobin walked back over to the bookshelf where the man with the cold smile had led her the night before. She reached back for the photo, she felt the medal frame and pulled it out. Chris continued to watch her as she gripped onto the photo tightly. She found herself looking again, in that moment second guessing everything she had seen the night before. What if it had all been in her head? What if the woman only had a slight resemblance? Would Chris finally think she had lost it? She risks a glance and was once again stunned by the face staring back at her. She risked another look at Christen who seemed to be growing more worried by the second. “Tobin, what is going on, are you going to show me whatever you have there?” Without answering she handed the photo over to Christen, she wanted to watch every little reaction on the woman’s face, but Chris remained stoic. After what felt like an eternity, she glanced back up at Tobin’s waiting face.   
” This is what you found last night?” That wasn’t what Tobin was expecting the woman to say. “Yes Chris. I found that picture. That picture of a woman that could be your twin. If it wasn’t for her attire and hair and of the fact it was in an office of a man that died over a hundred years ago, I might have thought it was actually you.” Tobin took a breath, she had not meant to get angry, but something was eating at her skin again. She felt a hot bolt strike up her spine and it felt like the room was burning her from the inside. Christen began to look upset. “What do you want me to say Tobin? What am I supposed to know about this random photograph? This is as crazy to me as it is to you!” Tobin felt blood in her veins start to boil, “Is it though Christen? Or am I the only one wondering what the hell that picture might mean?” Christen took a deep breath before setting the photo down and walking closer to Tobin. “I don’t know what’s gotten in to you and I don’t know why you are mad at me for a photo of some woman from a hundred years ago, but I’m not going to sit here and let you accuse me of things. I don’t owe you anything Tobin. You don’t know a thing about me.” With that Christen gave her one final look before rushing out of the room and as Tobin watched her go, she felt cold again. 

“You’re losing her.” Tobin could feel the chill of the breath on her neck, but she was over this and decided it was time to talk back to this little messenger of hers. “What do you want from me? Who are you?” at first Tobin thought she might be alone again, but then she felt the hand grip her shoulder and she could almost feel the woman’s lips at her ear, “If you aren’t careful, I’m your future.” Tobin whipped around only to find herself staring at the wall. It seemed the friend she was making wasn’t ready for introductions yet. With a frustrated sigh she went to find Chris. Tobin didn’t want time to think about the last thing that was said to her. She was getting tired of this, and while she didn’t know exactly what the voice meant she’d be damned if she was going to lose now. This house may be against her and Chris, but she was ready to fight, whatever that battle may be. 

It didn’t take long to find Chris sitting out on the bench in the garden. Tobin tried to forget how chilly the days were becoming; she was just starting to see her own breath and Christen was sitting in a simple t-shirt. Tobin slowly took her jacket off and placed it around the woman’s shoulders and sat down next to her, making sure to give her space incase she didn’t want Tobin there. That sat in silence for a minute, but she watched as Chris pulled the jacket tighter around her. She figured if she was bold enough to speak to whatever spirit was trying to talk to her, she was bold enough to place her arm around Christen. To her delight, the woman allowed herself to be pulled in and rested her head on Tobin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I want to tell you the truth Tobin, it’s just the whole thing seems crazy. And I’ve only found out recently myself.” Tobin pulled her in tighter. “Chris I was being an ass, this house it’s doing something to me. And if I am being honest it’s freaking me out. But I meant what I said the other night, I’m here to listen when you are ready to talk. Is it driving me a little mad, sure but I won’t push you.”   
Tobin looked down as Chris leaned back a little so they could see each other a little clearer. “Why does it feel like I’ve known you for longer than three days? It shouldn’t be this fast, I shouldn’t feel so safe, but I do with you. I have the whole time.” Tobin just smiled at her, understanding completely. While she knew that her initial reaction to the woman was simply because how beautiful she was, Tobin had no doubt in her mind whatever they had created these last full days went well beyond physical attraction.   
Tobin wanted to kiss her, and she found herself leaning closer wanting to feel those soft lips finally, but Chris pulled away before she got the chance. Tobin felt her stomach drop, maybe she was misreading what Christen had been saying to her. She tried to hide the disappointment on her face as to not upset the woman. Chris in return reached up to cup her cheek, “Tobin don’t, I didn’t pull back because I don’t want that.” Tobin felt herself sigh with pure relief, “then what is it? I mean I just kind of thought we were having a moment there.” Tobin tries to laugh the whole thing off hoping to calm down both of their nerves. Christen took the moment to lean up and graze her lips across Tobin’s cheek, it was slow and felt like a promise. “Tobin, before I do that. Before I move any further with you, I need to tell you the truth. I want to tell you what I’ve been keeping from everyone. And to do that I need to start with a little fact about my family and where I come from.” Tobin was giving Christen her full attention, she was hoping that this would bring them closer, but also that it would help Tobin figure out what the spirit had been trying to tell her. Chris took one big breath before staring straight into Tobin’s eyes, “Veronica was my great-great grandmother. The Wallers are my family.”


	4. Ghost Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris finally tells Tobin all her secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning this chapter is heavy on dialogue.

Tobin wasn’t sure if it had been minutes or merely seconds of her staring at Christen, the woman looked nervous and kept fidgeting with her hands. Knowing she needed to respond, she quickly wrapped her long fingers around Chris’s. She was hoping to at least ground the woman a little. “Chris, I’m not quite sure how to respond here. You’re related to this family?” Tobin felt like she wanted to stay more but her thoughts were jumbling together, and the lack of sleep was really catching up to her. She took a deep breath and looked into the concerned eyes of this woman who had drawn her in so quickly. Had it really only been days since they first met? Tobin knew that she could be in over her head here, she’s practically felt that way since stepping foot on the grounds here. But she also knew it was too late to turn back now, she didn’t want to turn back now, not when she knew at the end of this, she could have a real shot with Christen. It somehow was worth it; Chris was worth it. “Tell me everything.”  
Chris took a minute to look down and compose herself, squeezing Tobin’s hand, needing to feel her. “My grandmother first told me about Veronica when I was just a child.” Tobin could feel Christen’s hesitation and released one hand to gently grab her chin to hold the girl close and leaned in a gave a gentle kiss to Chris’s cheek. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere unless you are coming with me, okay?” She gently whispered to woman. She leaned back as Christen observed her before giving her a small smile and nodding her head.  
“At first it was simply a part of a ghost story she used to tell me at night sometimes when she would be putting me to sleep. A haunted love story you could say, she would say that spirits and true love were much more interesting than some princess waiting around to be saved by a prince. I honestly just thought she was a little odd, but I loved her, so I indulged her. She was so good at telling stories too, I could listen to her for hours and it eventually led to my love of stories, my love of books. She’s the one that first put books in my hand, my passion for stories came from her. And as the years went on the story of Veronica and her love Evie and the ghost that haunted Hillside became my favorite.” Tobin couldn’t help but smile at the woman and it was met by a look of wonder on Christen’s face, “Why are you smiling like that?”  
“Your grandmother told you a lesbian ghost story growing up instead of one about princesses? Honestly, she sounds pretty awesome.” They both let themselves relax and laugh at what Tobin was saying. “She used to always tell me that love isn’t reserved for only some people, that we don’t get to pick and choose who gets to fall in love and who they get to fall in love with. I don’t know if she ever knew how much she helped me find myself, she was the first person who I told when I was ready to come out. She just gave me a knowing smile and told me to be careful with my love because one day I would meet an amazing woman who would deserve it all.” Tobin felt a small jolt right in her chest, she hoped one day she could be the woman that deserved all of Chris’s love, even if it was way too soon to be thinking that way. “I love that Chris, and she was right by the way, you’re too amazing to ever waste away something as precious as that.” Chris bit her lip and gave Tobin a knowing smile. They both took a deep breath to try and get back on track, and then it hits Tobin.  
“Wait! Veronica and Evie were lovers?” Things were slowly starting to click in to place for Tobin and she needed to here the rest of Chris’s story. “Yes, they were together secretly for almost the whole time Evie worked as the Frances’s nanny. Once she moved in, apparently, they couldn’t stay away from each other, not that they wanted to.” Tobin immediately felt sad for the two women, who at the time would have been in a no-win situation. She had an unsettling feeling about why the story ended the way that it had. “For years I used to think this was simply some elaborate story my nana had come up with to entertain me as a child, I had no clue this house even existed. One day I got too curious and decided to just look up the house, see if maybe my grandmother had stolen the story from a book or something. What I didn’t expect to find was these house, Hillside Manor along with the family who used to live here all those years ago. I couldn’t believe it at first. I kept looking into it, hoping to find any information I could. You were right earlier, there’s so little known about this house, about what happened to the Wallers. I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling I had about it all. My little bedtime story was about turning out to be too real for me.” Tobin squeezed her hands again wanting Chris to know she was still here.  
“I knew I needed to ask my grandmother, but something held me back for a while, I guess maybe I was afraid of what I might find out. When I finally went to her, it was like she had been waiting for the day. Like she knew I would find out and be ready to here to full story. She told me that she herself didn’t know for years. That it wasn’t until her grandmother was dying, until Veronica was dying. She had gone to visit her, and she just started telling this story about the woman she had loved, about how her husband her had caused so much grief and pain. How they both were waiting for her return to the home and that she knew her time was soon. My nana didn’t quite know what to do with it all, at first simply believing Veronica was simply telling her stories. It wasn’t until a few weeks after Veronica had passed that she decided to ask her mom about the story. At first Frances was uncomfortable, seemingly upset that the story had been brought up again, but eventually she told her it was true. Frances tried to feel in the gaps as much as she could, but she had been so young when it all happened. She barely remembered her father at that point. Veronica waited until she was adult to finally come clean with what happened that fateful night. My grandmother tried to process it all, especially since no one ever knew what had happened to Veronica and Frances, many believing they died that night as well.”  
Tobin needed a minute to process everything she was hearing. Needed to try and put the pieces together of what she had been hearing and feeling since they had been in this house. She was struck with the realization that the spirits were only connecting to her at this point, but why not Chris. She was the one that had a part in this story not Tobin. If the voice wanted her to protect Christen and leave the house, then that must mean whoever else was still residing on the property could be planning to harm the woman. The thought made Tobin’s blood run cold, Veronica was able to escape with her life that night. Was there a spirit hear who didn’t want Christen to have the same opportunity? She was filled to the brim with dread and she knew she needed to get Chris out of this house.  
“What happened that night Chris? Why did you come back here?”  
“According to my nana Jack found out about Veronica and Evie’s affair. He confronted them that night, he was drunk and pissed and wanted to hurt them. He pulled his pistol on them aiming at Veronica, but Evie jumped in front of her as the shot rang out. It hit her right in the chest and as Veronica held her in her arms, Jack seemed to realize what he had done, dropped the gun and ran back to his office. Evie didn’t last very long as Veronica clung to her. According to Veronica she was filled with rage, Evie was the love of her life and she was gone in an instant. She picked up the dropped gun and stormed into Jack’s office, she found him there drinking and pacing the room. She said she didn’t even blink before shooting him dead.” Tobin felt sick to her stomach. She also knew she needed to get Christen out of here as soon as possible.  
“She buried the bodies, packed what she and Frances needed and hopped on a train to California. The two of them found a way to settle there and eventually built a new life. Neither Jack nor Veronica had much family and the few they did were still in England. The police searched for the family for a while, but many believed they had just got a ship back to London. The house was eventually sold and one day it all turned into a little ghost story. Frances grew up and got married, they had as normal a life as they could, putting their painful time in Portland deep in the back of their minds.”  
“Until Veronica was on her deathbed? And then she confessed the whole thing to your nana? Why not take it all to the grave?” Christen looked at her thoughtfully. “According to my grandmother, Veronica didn’t regret what she did to her husband. Which I know sounds horrible, but he had murdered Evie while trying to kill her. And why she may have never regretted pulling the trigger, she felt regret everyday for causing Evie’s death. Veronica never forgave herself for putting Evie in that situation, for letting Evie save her life. After meeting her all she had wanted was a life together for the two of them. She said it never felt right that she got to live it but had to do it without Evie by her side. She knew that when she died, essentially all traces of Evie would die with her, and she didn’t want the world to lose the woman she loved twice.” Tobin caught the lone tear coming down Christen’s face with her thumb before pulling the girl in. Chris herself clung to Tobin allowing herself to be held tightly by the older woman. That sat in the embrace for a moment as Tobin slowly ran her fingers through mounds of curls. She felt a longing to protect and care for the woman in her arms, knew that she would get them out of whatever insane situation that had allowed themselves in.  
“Chris why are you here? Why would you come to this house…what exactly is it that you are looking for?” Christen gave her one final squeeze and moved back slightly to be able to look at her face. “When I first accepted the job at Portland East, I told myself it was because of the opportunity, not because I had felt drawn to this city maybe my whole life. Hearing that story since I was little, it felt like a part of me in a way. Once I knew it was real, once I knew the true tragedy of it all I couldn’t let it go. It got worse once I moved to the city, I drove by the estate a few times, I almost trespassed until I realized going to jail wouldn’t do me any good. And then Megan handed me the opportunity I needed. When I heard about the study, at first, I had little interest. Paranormal activity is not exactly in my line of interest. But one day at lunch she had told me the location, Hillside Manor. For a moment I panicked because I knew I needed to be a part of the team, but I needed to be smart about it. I casually let P know about how my grandmother knew all about the family and the house because her mother was from here. Luckily, she didn’t ask too many questions, but I answered enough for her to want me to join this. But to answer your question, I’m not really sure Tobin. Ever since learning the whole story, learning that it was my family that suffered here, I don’t know. Maybe I just needed to be here, one time? Maybe a part of me hoped we would find Evie. I just needed closure of my own.” Tobin didn’t want to wait any longer and sure maybe it wasn’t exactly the best time to be doing this, but she needed to feel Chris. Needed to let her know while maybe this was all a little crazy, Tobin was here for the girl in whatever she needed. Tobin moved a few strands of hair behind the woman’s ear before gently cupping her face, she looked into her eyes that seemed to be turning dark green in that moment letting her know what she was about to do and giving the woman time to pull back if she wanted. When Chrsiten gave her no indication she wanted Tobin to stop she leaned to graze her lips. The kiss was soft at first, the two women trying to learn the other but then Chris pulled Tobin in as the woman held her face. They only pulled back to catch their breath but aware it was the only reason that either of them had stopped.  
Their mouths were still only inches apart when Tobin whispered to the woman, “Let me get you out of here, please?” Chris pulled back giving the woman a questioning look. Tobin herself didn’t quite know how to explain to her that she believed the woman might be in danger. How could she explain a voice in the wind, that seemed to constantly be warning Tobin that she needed to keep Christen safe. Would she think she was crazy? Tobin wasn’t sure she cared at this point too concerned for the woman still wrapped around her. “Tobin why would we leave? We still have a few days left and Megan wants our help when she finally tries to communicate. You have a story to write, we can’t just leave.” Tobin bit her chapped lip struggling to find the words to convince the Chris to leave with her. She took a deep breath before opening her mouth… “What the fuck!” they both jumped at the scream coming from inside the house before turning to one another. Christen got up first to head inside but Tobin grabbed her wrist, “Chris I have to tell you something and honestly I don’t know if it can wait.” Christen looked torn. Tobin stood up and kept a hold on Chris, “Something is going on in this house, I’ve felt it since I walked in the door with you and well something has been happening, that is so hard to explain but…”  
“HELP!” The scream startled both of them as the two looked towards the house, Christen gave her what seemed to be an apologetic look before turning to run towards the house. Giving a big sigh Tobin turned to follow her only to be grabbed back with a jerk of her arm. She felt a cold sensation down her spine as she jumped around ready to find nothing once again.  
What she didn’t expect was to find a woman. In what felt like a trance Tobin looked the woman over. She was wearing a similar dress to the one she had seen Veronica wear in the photograph. She had taught features and what appeared to be hazel eyes and soft brown hair. The figure studied Tobin as they continued to stare at one another. “I thought it might be time we met now that you know more of my story.” Tobin felt sick again as the realization hit her. Evie.  
“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost Tobin, try to relax a little will you, it’s not good for the heart.” Was she mocking her? Tobin tried to understand how she had gotten to this point, days before she had been a happy, single woman simply living her life and doing her job. No ghost, no beautiful woman who made Tobin’s heart sputter, whose life may now be in danger. She was fairly sure she would be waking up in her bed any minute now.  
“Tobin, I’m not here to scare you, I’m sorry before about the whispering and such I just wasn’t sure you were ready to accept actually seeing me.” Tobin continued to stare trying not to get too in her head, trying to accept what was happening in this moment. “What do you want with Chris?” She finally found her voice and the figure just smiled at her. “Those women really are hard to resist, aren’t they? I think I was fumbling over my words the second I laid eyes on Veronica. They also have a way of making you sacrifice anything for them.”  
“I’m sorry. I mean, fuck I don’t know how to talk to a dead person, but I wish your story would have turned out differently.” Evie smiled at the girl once more before slowly walking around the area. Tobin’s eyes followed her as she slowly ran her hand down part of the bench Christen and Tobin had been occupying. “Veronica used to sit her everyday until the frost began to hit the ground. She loved the open air and the flowers. She was such a ray of sunshine it only seemed fitting that she couldn’t be cooped up indoors.  
“You loved her.”  
“Wouldn’t life be grand if it was all that simple. Loving a woman who brings out all the best of you. Loving every inch of her mind, body and soul. Loving her to a point that you feel like it must be some hidden treasure, because surely no one had loved another so strongly and thoroughly before.”  
Tobin looked at her thoughtfully, feeling pain for the two of them, praying her and Christen’s story had a happier ending. “You remind me a little of myself. The first day I arrived at the house I couldn’t even think straight around her. She affected me so much from the very beginning. I couldn’t even be mad at her about it. You’ve been the same way ever since she frightened you on the front porch.” Tobin’s head snapped up quickly, “You’ve been watching up the whole time.”  
Evie nodded her head at the woman, “The minute I saw her I knew. And I also knew she would be in danger, so when I saw the way you were looking at her it only made sense. You would have to be the one to protect her. Seems fate likes things to be full circle.”  
“How can I protect her? What am I protecting her from, Jack?” Evie looked at her for moment more before finally answering, “I wasn’t the one Jack wanted to kill, he wanted revenge on Veronica for breaking his heart. But he got me instead and Veronica got away, she got to live a full life. I don’t think he intends on letting Christen…  
“TOBIN!”


	5. Don't Let Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A spirit is getting closer and Tobin tries to protect Christen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needed to add one more chapter before finishing up this part of the story. Final chapter coming very soon.

Tobin sprinted inside as she felt sweat fall down her back, her fear that something had happened to the green eye girl was all she could feel. She had barely made it inside when Christen slammed into her, Tobin immediately wrapping the woman up in her arms. She began to look over the girl, checking for any injuries, “Chris what happened? Are you hurt?” She began to run her hands over her needing to be sure she was okay. Christen grabbed Tobin’s face forcing her to look up into her eyes. “I’m okay, I promise I’m not hurt at all.” Tobin felt herself relax, if only slightly. The fear she was feeling was still coursing through her body. She knew she had to get Christen out of here before some angry spirit looking for revenge had the chance to do any damage. “It’s not me that’s hurt Tobin, just come with me please.” She held on to Tobin’s hand dragging her into the office area, where Ali was collapsed on the floor. 

“What the hell?” Tobin watched as Ash was frantically trying to get the woman lying on the floor to wake up. “Is Ali okay? What happened to her?” Tobin looked around the group, Becky looked freaked while Megan seemed to be contemplating something. “We’re not sure. Becky was doing some research in the study, Me and Ash were checking over some of the rooms we though we might use. And Ali was trying to get a better read in here, said she wanted to try to work on opening the lines of communication. We found her lying here not long ago, I just don’t understand what happened. She doesn’t seem to have any injuries like she was hit. “Ashlyn is she breathing okay? Guys don’t you think we need to get her to the hospital; I don’t even understand what we are still doing here. We need to get out of this house.” 

“Tobin look I understand you are worried, but Ali knows the risk of all this. She told us herself that something of this nature was possible and that we should wait it out. We can’t just give up on all of this now. Especially when something is clearly going on in this house.” Tobin tried to take a breath. She couldn’t understand why everyone wasn’t ready to run out of this place too, even without the knowledge she now had. “Ash, you seriously are okay with this?” Ashlyn looked up at the group for the first time, “Look Tobs if it were up to me, we’d already be gone. It’s just I promised her I wouldn’t leave if this happened. I trust her with everything in me and even if I don’t agree, I can’t betray her like that. If she wants to leave when she wakes up, then we are out of here but until then I’m sorry I just can’t.”

Tobin tried to keep here irritation at bay. She knew Ali had probably prepared Ashlyn for all possibilities, but she needed them to listen to her. She felt her skin begin to itch and tried to hold in everything she knew, not sure how to even go about telling everyone. Also knowing it wasn’t fully her story to tell and Christen didn’t seem to keen on sharing with anyone else yet. “I think Tobin might be right guys.” Heads whipped towards Becky, she had been quiet since Tobin entered the room but it was clear now she might have had her feel of ghostly adventures. 

“I just think that maybe the risk isn’t worth it Megan, what if someone gets seriously hurt? It seems Ali is lucky. Who knows what could have happened to her.” Everyone was silent for a moment trying not to imagine the thought of something worse happening to any of them. “Becky, Tobin I get it okay. But I’ve worked for so long to get a chance like this. And we are so close, I would never endanger anyone, especially any of you. But I can’t give up now, not when I know I’m on the cusp of everything I’ve ever worked so hard for. We will get out of here as soon as we get what we came for.” 

Tobin couldn’t listen anymore; her skin was still itching, and she felt that Megan was taking too big a risk here. She wanted to tell them everything, but she knew that if she had admitted to seeing the spirit of Evie, they wouldn’t leave until Megan found her herself. She began the room closing on her and she had to get out of there fast. They all watched as she stormed out. Chris watched as she went, “Ash why don’t we move her to the couch in the study, and hopefully she’ll wake up soon. We can start piecing together what happened then.” Christen spoke calmly, the atmosphere feeling tight as is it was. The group carried Ali to one of the couches before Chris went in search of Tobin. 

Tobin had made it to the front parlor, a part of her wondering if she should just get out herself. She knew she wouldn’t though, not without Christen. It was already decided that she wasn’t leaving the house without Chris next to her, she didn’t even have a choice in the matter at this point. She scoffed out loud, how right Evie had been. Tobin was done for the minute the woman had spooked her on the front porch. 

She tried to clear her head before she headed back to where the group was. She didn’t want to blow up on Megan and she didn’t want to cause anymore worry to Ashlyn. As she tried to get her mind right she felt a burning on the left side of her chest, she bent over in pain and she went to grab the spot. Her eyes flashed back to the window and there he was. His cold, dead smile looking back at her. How was he doing this? She stared him down, somehow hoping it would make him vanish again and take the burning pain with him. He tilted his head and studied her, and she gave nothing but her own cold stare back at him. She knew who he was, she knew what he wanted. So, she hoped that her eyes were conveying what her mind was screaming at him. You can not have her. I won’t let you, now or ever. Maybe he could read her mind because he gave her one last dead smile before walking into the night once again. 

Chisten found her then, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, asking Tobin to turn around. Once they were looking at one another Tobin couldn’t help but wrap her arms around the woman, Chris held her tightly. “Please let me get you out of here.” Tobin knew she had to try, she wanted everyone to leave but she also knew that her priority was Christen. The girl pulled away slightly looking at Tobin, her eyes searched her before she responded, “Tobin I can’t. And we can’t leave everyone here and run away.” “Chris, I do want everyone to come with us, but you and I both know Pinoe isn’t going anywhere. But you can, please Christen just trust me.”

“I do trust you Tobin, but I can’t leave, I’m sorry.” Tobin pulled fully away from her rubbing her hands roughly over her face. She had to tell her; it was the only way to get her out of this house. It was the only way to keep her safe. “Chris, I have to tell you something, outside before…

“Chris, Tobin guys come in here quick!” Christen looked apologetic as the two headed back into the study area. Tobin was relieved to see that Ali had her eyes open and was sitting up slightly on the couch. Ashlyn held her as she continuously asked if she was okay. Tobin glanced over at Chris watching her take a deep breath, she had been scared too. “Ali you’re awake. Are you feeling okay? Do you need to go to a hospital?” Ali gave Tobin and kind smile, “No, I promise I am okay. I just need to get my bearings but I’m really fine guys.” 

Tobin and Chris sat down on the couch opposite of them. Christen reached over and head on to Tobin’s leg, keeping it there. The two looked at one another giving the other small smiles. 

“Do you remember what happened to you Ali?” The group all turned to her hoping that she had remembered, and they could hopefully figure just what was going on. “I do, I was working in the room. I was trying to see if a presence was in there. To me it felt like something had attached itself to that room a very long time ago. For a while I was just feeling for things but then I notice Tobin and Chris outside the window. You two were sitting in the garden talking and I had only been watching you for a few minutes when my whole body began to burn up. It felt like I was on fire. Then I began to feel the rage, it went my chest all the way to the tips of my fingers before eventually I passed out.” Ashlyn seemed to pull her in tighter as the rest of the group tried to process the information. 

“How long had you been in that room before this happened?” Tobin already had a theory, and it was making her sick. “I would say at least an hour. Why?” 

“So, everything was fine for an hour until you began watching me and Christen on the bench?” Ali looked at her for a moment, “Yes, a minute or so after is when the burning began.” Tobin might throw up but before that she needed to get them out of this house. “Don’t you think it’s too dangerous to be here? I just can’t understand why we haven’t left yet.” Tobin was frustrated and scared. Startling Chris she jumped up and start pacing the room. “Look Tobin I understand it’s harder for people who have never seen things like this, but I’m truly fine and besides nothing else has happened yet. I don’t think we need to be packing our bags just yet.” Tobin had to tell them, she needed them to know that they were in danger, that plenty had happened already and all of it to Tobin. She looked to Chris begging her with a look to tell them the full story, then Tobin could share her part of it. “Tobin it’s okay, look is something going on. What are you not saying?” Christen was staring at her, she could tell the girl wasn’t quite ready to give her side of the story and Tobin wouldn’t betray her. She had to get out of here before she said something that she couldn’t take back. “Fuck it, I need a minute. I’m sorry everyone.” She made her second dramatic exit of the night heading to her bedroom upstairs. The group remained silent before Christen wordlessly followed her. 

She heard the knock but couldn’t convince herself to open the door. She wasn’t sure she could see Christen just yet. The last thing she wanted to do was go off on the woman but her fear over Chris’s safety was about to win out. But Christen wasn’t excepting the space Tobin was trying to give herself. She opened the door slowly as to give Tobin a moment to breath before they were face to face again. She asked with her eyes if she could sit next to her and Tobin lightly patted the spot. 

Christen immediately grabbed Tobin’s hand in her own, once again anchoring herself. “Tobin I can’t tell them yet; I know you want me to but I’m still trying to sort things out in my own mind first. I just I need a little more time that’s all, can you just trust me on this?” Tobin understood and in either situation she would happily give Chris all the time she needed. But this was different, Christen didn’t know how much her life was in danger. “Tobin please talk to me; I need to know you are okay. You were scaring me down there. I know this is too much for anyone to have to deal with, but I need you to know that I’m here, and I’m not letting go.” Tobin wanted that to be enough, wished that their desire to hold each other up would somehow get them through this. But she also knew that neither one of them was prepared for the reality of it all. Jack wanted to hurt Christen and he had 100 years to prepare for it and what did either of them know about how to fight a ghost? 

Tobin lifted their joined hands and softly kissed Christens before holding them in her lap. “Chris, I need to tell you something. I should have told you from the beginning. You were honest with me and now it’s my turn.” Christen’s eyebrows raised as she searched Tobin’s face trying to figure what Tobin was hiding from her. 

“Something has been happening to me since we walked through the door. At first it was just chills and burning sensations but then I started hearing a voice. A voice sending me warnings. I also didn’t trip on the stairs, something pushed me.” Tobin took a glance at Christen’s to see confusion and worry cross her face. “Chris the reason I didn’t follow you right away when we were in the garden is because the voice came back. But this time they let me see them too. It was Evie.” Christen began shaking her head, “Tobin, I don’t understand what you are saying. Evie has been haunting you this whole time. How, I mean you saw her outside?” Tobin took a big breath knowing that Christen didn’t even know the important stuff yet. 

“Yes, she had been sending me warnings since the first night.” 

“Warnings about what?”

“Not about what Chris, about who. She had been sending me warnings about you.” Christen gripped the Tobin’s hand before taking a breath herself. “What kind of warnings Tobin?” 

“She wants me to get you out of here. She needs you out of this house. I need you out of this house.” 

“I don’t understand why she didn’t just warn me herself if she’s so worried.” Tobin looked down not sure she wanted to admit this part of the story to Chris. “She said the minute she saw us on the porch she knew.” Christen looked confused again, “Knew what?”

“She knew that I was done for. That the moment I met you I was a goner. Evie said the exact same thing happened the first time she met Veronica. And so, she knew that I would make sure you were safe no matter what, like she had always done for her. Evie knew if anyone would do everything in their power to get you safely out of here it would be me.” Tobin looked down again, she knew they had discussed their feelings for one another, but she was worried this was too much too soon. Christen gently pulled her head back up and leaned in the give her a soft kiss, which lead to a few more kisses before they both sighed a moved back slightly to be able to see one another. “Tobin, I know this isn’t why you are telling me all of this, but I need you to know that I felt it too, right away.” The two grinned at one another caught up once again in their other worldly connection they already seemed to have. 

“I can’t tell you how happy that makes me but I there is more. I haven’t just seen Evie; I’ve also seen Jack. He always appears to me outside a window, giving me this cold smile and my whole body starts to burn or itch. The second time I saw him was in the office, I didn’t find that picture of Veronica by chance Chris, he led me to it. He wanted me to know about the connection, I have no idea why, but he did. I saw him earlier too, right before you found me. He’s messing with me; he knows I’m not going to let him have you but that won’t stop him from trying.” 

“So, he wants to kill me to get back at Veronica.” Christen didn’t sound scared, she sounded irritated. “That’s what Evie seems to think, that’s why I have to get you out of here. Look what he did to Ali, how could we even begin to understand a way to fight this?” Christen closed her eyes for a moment, Tobin impatiently waiting for the go ahead that she could get her out of this place. “I can’t leave yet, I’m so sorry but I have to stay.” Tobin felt it like a gut punch. 

“Chris please, I can’t lose you before I ever had you. Don’t you want a chance, a real chance at this? I know how real this could be, I feel it with every fiber of my being, please Christen you have to feel it to.” The green-eyed woman gave her a sad smile before pulling her to kiss her once again, she then kissed her cheek, along with her other and then her forehead before pulling Tobin in to just hold her. 

“I want this just as much as you do Tobin, everything I’ve set I meant one hundred percent. I want a chance at this because I know how good it can be. But I just need a little more time, please can you give me that?” 

“Why? I just told you a revenge happy spirit wants to kill you, why aren’t we sprinting for the door right now?” 

“I have to set her free.” Tobin shook her head, of course. “Evie, you came here for her. Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” Christen looked slightly guilty, “At the time I didn’t even know if she was here? I wasn’t sure ghost were even real but now that you have seen her, now that I know, I can save her.”  
“Chris, she died over one hundred years ago, it’s too late for her but it’s not too late for you.” 

“Veronica felt Evie’s loss every single day until she died. She never forgave herself, not only because she was the reason, she had died but also that had never been able to escape this house. Evie and Veronica dreamed of living and starting a life together, and only one of them got to do that. But now we can do right by them, I can do right by them. I’ve been hearing their story since I was just a little girl, I need a happier ending for them Tobin, please understand that.” 

“What about your own happy ending, our happy ending?” 

“I’m not giving that up by doing this, I won’t let him stop me. We have Ali and Megan, we can finally set her free Tobin, maybe she’d finally be able to find Veronica again.”  
“This is so fucking crazy.” Chris snorted at her, “Hey you are the one that’s been talking to ghost all week not me.” Tobin allowed herself to laugh at that, trying to relax while letting Chris’s hand keep her grounded. “I don’t like this; in fact, I hate it. But I won’t lose you and sure as hell won’t leave you. So, any idea how you set a spirit free exactly?” Christen grabbed her face once again and began kissing the woman fervently as Tobin pulled them back to lay against the pillows. She ran her hands through those beautiful curls as Chris’s mouth stayed on her own. When they finally pulled away from air Christen realized she was straddling the girl. Tobin noticing as well gulped slightly making Chris smirk at her and laugh. She leaned to give her a few more kisses before moving off and laying beside her. 

“Stay with me tonight?” Christen simply nodded her head as the two wrapped themselves around one another under the covers. “We are both getting out here, safe and together. I promise Tobin.” They clung to each other a little tighter before following into a light sleep.


	6. Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone faces their own ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for such a long wait! Life kind of got away with me and I wasn't able to get this done until now! I hope you still enjoy. I'm hoping to add some one-shots of their future life at some point.

Tobin felt warm as she began to wake up, it seeped into her whole body and she tried to cling to it as she became more aware of her surroundings. She felt something solid as well, as body clinging tightly to her, Christen. Her head tucked under Tobin’s neck, her hand grasping onto Tobin’s t-shirt. She didn’t want to move. For a moment she allowed herself to believe they were back at her apartment, waking up on a Saturday morning. That they could spend the day in bed together or go out to get coffee, maybe go to a park or a movie. More simply just be together, outside the nightmare they were currently living in. Tobin made herself hold on to those dreams, making sure they were there to get her through whatever was about to happen. To give her strength in case today went horribly wrong. 

She felt the woman begin to stir as she gently ran her hands through her the dark curls. Christen slowly lifted her head to look at Tobin. It seemed her eyes were a soft grey in the morning, and Tobin couldn’t stop gazing into them, she silently hoped she would have the opportunity to look at them for hours at some point. “Hi.”   
“Good morning. Did you sleep alright?” Tobin continued to caress her wild hair. 

“Mhmm, yes that was the best night sleep I’ve had in a long time Tobs. Do you promise that we can do it again sometime, when we aren’t so worried about a vengeful spirit and you can make me breakfast?” Tobin hoped Chris couldn’t feel her heart leap with how close the woman was to her. She longed for those mornings, longed for just the opportunity to have mornings and days and nights with this beautiful woman. 

“I promise Chris, there is a life for us outside of this house. I need you to believe that.” Christen moved to sit up slightly more, staring down Tobin as morning light filtered around them. She took her thumb and softly rubbed it against Tobin’s cheek before leaning down to give the woman a gently kiss. “I can’t wait for that; I just need you to hold on for a little longer so we can get there.” Tobin simply replied with a soft kiss of her own, and then pulling the woman down to once again lay on her chest.   
“We have to tell everyone don’t we? It’s the only way we can finish all of this.” 

“I know you want to help Evie move on, unfortunately they didn’t exactly teach us anything on that in intro to mass media. I think we need Ali and Pinoe, besides, I feel bad leaving P out of this, she has worked so hard on it all.” Christen was playing with the ring on Tobin’s middle finger when she looked back up at her. “I agree, it would be wrong to leave her out, and I don’t exactly know what I’m doing either.” She could feel Christen hesitate, she wondered what the girl was worried about saying now.   
“Chris, just tell me whatever it is. After this week it seems pretty pointless to try and keep things to ourselves.” She felt and hear Christen sigh before she pulled away from Tobin and sat up. She followed her up to a sitting position and grabbed both of her hands, letting her know once again she was there for her. “I just think that maybe we should try to release all the spirits from the house.”

“You mean Jack? You want to help him move on too? Chris, he murdered Evie, I mean he wants to hurt you. I don’t understand why we should feel any need to involve him if we don’t have to.”  
“It’s just most spirits have clear reasons for hanging on to our world, I mean obviously. Evie is still here because of love. Her love for Veronica and her need to always protect her even in death. But Jack, he’s stuck here because of rage, his desire for revenge but those things also came from love. Tobin he must have loved her, and I know it’s all complicated and risky, but I want to help everyone move on. That’s how this story should end, everyone finding peace.”   
Tobin looked up to the ceiling and let out a large breath before bringing her eyes back to her new favorite sight, Chris’s face. “Dammit, you know how dangerous this is going to be. All he wants is to hurt you, it’s been a hundred years Chris, how do we know he could come back from that. That’s a very long time to hold on to something. Do you really think it’s worth it?”  
“Yes.” Tobin let out a groan. Damn this wonderful, caring beautiful woman who seemed to already have Tobin wrapped around her finger. “Fine.” The dark-skinned beauty smiled brightly at the older woman and Tobin almost forgave her for willingly risking her life. “But you have to promise me something. If this gets bad if it looks like it is going to end badly. Promise me you will find a way out no matter what.” The two women looked intently at each other for a moment, neither wanting to give in. “I promise, Tobin.”  
The two made their way downstairs a little while later ready to confess everything to the group.   
“Morning guys, Tobs you feeling better?” Tobin gave Ashlyn and small smile and nodded her head. “Actually, the two of us need to talk to you all.” Chris stayed beside her and reached down to grab her hand and clung it tightly. Megan looked over and smirked at the two, “Look I think we were aware you two were getting along, and that’s great. I’m super happy for you, seriously what a hot couple, but don’t feel like you need to explain anything to us.” The two women glanced quickly at one another and gave each other small smiles before turning back to the group. “Actually, Pinoe that’s not what we want to tell you guys. I mean yes, I like Chris and thinks she’s beautiful. I mean she’s great, uh that’s not what I’m trying to say.” Ashlyn snorted at her while Becky couldn’t hide a smirk. Ali was giving her a kind smile while Christen simply gripped her hand tighter.   
“Okay I’ll bight, what are you trying to say.”   
“Me and Chris have been lying to you all. I mean well not lying just keeping things from you.”  
“What kind of things?”   
“Can everyone just sit down for a minute, it’s kind of a lot.” Everyone gave each other quick, questioning glances before making their ways to the couches. “Okay, we’re listening. What is it that we don’t know?” 

Tobin looked at Chris who nodded at her to tell them, “Chris has more of a connection to this house than she originally let on. She’s actually the Great-great granddaughter of Veronica.” Tobin looked around at everyone before moving on, she wanted everyone to process what she was saying before getting into the important stuff. Megan spoke up first, “That’s why you were pushing to come with us?” 

“Yes, look it’s a long story but the gist is my grandmother used to tell me about this place when I was a child. I thought she had just made up this whole bedtime story for me until I got older. One day just for fun I looked into the house and found out the people I had been hearing about all those years was real. That’s when my nan told me the truth.” Christen took a breath before continuing, “Jack meant to kill Veronica that night, but Evie jumped in front her, taking the bullet before dying. Devastated Veronica went to find Jack in his study and killed him. She buried the bodies, took Frances and lived her life out in California.” 

“Holy shit dude.” The group seemed to agree with Ash’s thoughts on the matter. 

“There’s more actually. You see ever since I’ve stepped foot in this house something has been happening to me. I’ve felt like my whole body was on fire, I was hearing voices, something pushed me on the stairs.” Megan stood up then, “Wait Tobin, you’ve been experiencing activity this whole time? Why didn’t you tell us? It’s the whole reason we are here.” Tobin felt a pang of guilt before Chris jumped in, “It’s my fault, I asked her to keep quiet about my story and so she decided not to mention everything.”

“No, look I mean yes Chris is sort of right. I didn’t tell you anything because of Chris, but it’s not about keeping her secret.”  
“Then what Tobs? I don’t understand why you two have been hiding all of this from us.”  
Tobin allowed herself another breath. “The voice I was hearing was Evie. She kept warning me, telling me to get Chris away from here. Then you confronted me in the garden. She told me that Jack wants to hurt Christen to punish Veronica.” The mood cooled immediately and even Megan looked concerned she jumped up and grabbed Christen’s other hand. “There’s something else, the burning sensation I told you about. It only happens when he appears.”  
“He? You mean you’ve seen two spirits?”

Christen removed her hand from Tobins and wrapped her arm tightly around the woman’s waist. “The first time I saw him I thought maybe he worked on the grounds. But then I saw him again while we were all in the office. He pointed out a picture to me. It was of Veronica. And then I saw him last night after I stormed off. He finds me whenever I’m near a window and gives me this cold, dead smile. I realized it had to be Jack after the second sighting.”  
Ali jumped in then, “Wait, so he only comes to you when he can watch you from a window?”

“Uh, yeah I mean at least so far. He’s also outside looking in at me or us.” Ali seemed to go into thought after Tobin’s answer. “So, it’s Chris. You didn’t tell us anything for her.”  
Tobin nodded her head once, “I just needed to protect her, and I was worried that if you knew I wouldn’t be able to get her out of here. It’s all I’ve been focused on; it’s what Evie was hoping I would do. It’s why she kept coming to me. She knew I would do anything to make sure Chris was safe.”  
Becky finally piped in, “Because she saw you with her and she knew. She knew because she had already been there.” Tobin simply nodded her head again feeling slightly embarrassed. She had already had to confess her feelings to Christen, she didn’t love the whole group going over it with them.   
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why are you two still here?” 

“I want to help them move on. I need to for Veronica. And Tobin said she would help me. But of course, we know absolutely nothing about any of this stuff.” Megan looked between the two for a moment, “So you need me and Ali’s help?” They both just shook their head yes.   
“It’s not that simple, the things that hold spirits to this plane are usually immensely powerful. IT might not work Christen, but I’ll gladly help you two.” Ali gave the two a sweet smile before joining their glances over to Megan. “Well I’m obviously going to help, besides we all would be helping each other. Now that we know how to get the spirits to come out and play.” 

“Wait, Tobin you said Jack helped you find a photo of Veronica, why did he do that? I mean how did you even know it was her?” Christen and Tobin allowed another quick glance between the two.   
“Because she looks exactly like Christen.” 

“Okay I think the key to this may be Tobin.” Tobin looked up at Ali, they had been going over everything thing they knew and had happened. They wanted to make sure everyone was fully informed this time if they were going to try and help Jack and Evie move on. Christen was sitting beside her holding her hand in her lap. Tobin felt a tight squeeze, “Wait why Tobin, I’m the one he is after, shouldn’t I be the one to do anything?”   
Ali smiled at Christen kindly, “Chris, Tobin is the one they both keep communicating with. They both must feel some connection to her, which means she is our best chance at reaching them.” 

Becky decided to speak up then, “I think there is an obvious reason they both feel connected to her.” The group all glanced at Becky giving her questioning looks. “Guys they both were in love with Veronica, they understand how it feels to fall for one of the women in Christen’s family.” Tobin felt the blood rush to her face and hoped no one saw the blush on her cheeks. She decided to take a chance and look at Chris. When they made eye contact the woman was smirking at her and all Tobin could do was grin back at her.   
”Becky is right, So I think the best plan of action is for me, Tobin and Megan to go back to the office and try and see if Jack will communicate with us. I think he is the one we need to focus on.”

“But what if he gets angry and hurts her? Why don’t we go to Evie first? I mean maybe she can help us with him.” Tobin allowed herself to get even closer to Christen and held there hands together tightly. “Chris, Evie is only holding on to protect you, to protect anyone of Veronica’s family. I realized you were right about us needing to help them both move on, because she’ll never let go as long as Jack stays in this house. She would never betray Veronica like that.”   
“Okay, you’re probably right Tobin, but I should come with you to talk to Jack. I’m who he wants.” Tobin shook her head quickly knowing she wasn’t going to allow Chris to put herself in any danger that she didn’t have to. “Chris that’s exactly why you need to let me do this first. Maybe he’ll listen to me, maybe there is another reason he has chosen to appear to me and no one else. Let me do this for you, I told you I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you and I meant that.” Christen just stared at her for a moment, clearly wanting to stop what was about to happen. Tobin tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it was hard to hide how nervous she still was about all of this. Christen slowly leaned over and kissed her cheek softly before whispering in her, “I swear to God Tobin if you let something happen to you, I will never forgive you.” The older woman let out a small laugh and leaned back to smile at the woman while mouthing I promise. 

Tobin stood up and looked at the rest of the group, “Okay, I guess it’s time to go find a ghost?” the four laughed before Megan tried to make her feel better, “Don’t worry Tobs, I promise to pay for your therapy after this.” 

Ali and Megan got a few things together before telling Tobin they were ready to head to Jack’s office. Christen got up and began following them. “Chris, what are you doing? Didn’t we just talk about this?”   
“Yes, but I’m not going to go inside with you, I don’t see why I can’t follow you there?”  
“Because you don’t need to be close, just stay with Becky and Ash and we will be back soon.” Christen just kept right on walking ahead of Tobin. The four found their way to Jack’s old office as Tobin turned to Chris, “Okay we made it here, now please go back to sitting room so I don’t have to worry about you.”   
“Tobin I’m fine really…

Christen didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence as the door flew open and a force drug Tobin inside before the door slammed shut in the three other’s faces. 

“What the fuck!” Tobin heard a small laugh and looked up from where she had landed on the floor. There stood the man that was causing all this trouble.   
“Hello Tobin, it’s nice to finally meet you face to face.” Tobin slowly got up from the ground as she continued to watch the figure. He didn’t look like a spirit, Tobin allowed herself to wonder if she could stick her hand through his body but quickly shook her head at the silly thought. 

“You must be Jack. I must say don’t you think it’s a little rude to yank someone into a room like that?” The man laughed again, he seemed to be amused by Tobin. She hoped that meant he didn’t lock her in this room to kill her.   
“I’m sorry but you see I only had interest in your company, not those of your friends.”   
“Why do you keep coming to me? Why do I hold any interest to you?” The man seemed to think over her question as he studied her. “I must admit Tobin I’ve been a little fascinated by you since your arrival to my home. I find it almost admirable that despite how terrified you are, you haven’t left yet. Although I suppose we both know what is keeping you in this house. Christen seems to have the same allure as Veronica always did. It’s hard to shake isn’t it?” Tobin found herself feeling sick at hearing him saying Christen’s name.  
“So, I guess were both in this house for the same reason then?” The man gave her a cold smile, she wasn’t sure if she should push things with him, but she needed to get him talking. “Seems a little much though don’t you think? Hanging around in this home for 100 years over a woman who didn’t love you back.” Tobin felt the burning sensation again, it was radiating through her entire body and then it was gone. 

“I see Christen was nice enough to share Veronica’s side of the story with you. I must say I’m surprised I thought she might take this one with her to the grave.”   
“Veronica wouldn’t do that to Evie.” She waited for the pain again but this time he just smiled once again. Tobin was struggling to get a read on the spirit.  
“Would you allow me to tell my side of this tale? You are here to write a story aren’t you, I think I may be able to help you with that. Please sit down.”   
“Why do I need to sit down for this, I think I’m perfectly capable of hearing you from here.”

“Tobin, I want to sit with you and tell you my story.” Tobin moved to the old leather chair before slowly sinking down in it. She found herself glancing back at the door, hoping that if Jack were here nothing could be happening to Chris at the moment. She turned back to face, “Don’t worry Tobin no one is hurting Christen, for now.” Fear struck Tobin straight in the gut, but she forced it down, willing herself to listen to Jack and somehow find a way to stop all of this.   
“Okay Jack, what is your side of the story?” Tobin allowed herself to relax in the chair, hoping that she could figure out how to fix all of this somehow. Jack’s eyes seemed to bore into hers for a moment before he glanced back at a picture on his shelf. 

“Well, I suppose you could see my story started when I was only a child. Veronica lived next door to my family, and we became close at a very young age. She was my best friend.” Jack continued to stare into the picture like he was lost in another time.   
“I loved her my entire life. She was all I ever really wanted. But Veronica didn’t like to stay in one place for long, she was a wonderer. So, I thought if I let her go and see whatever is she felt she needed to see and then she would come back to me and be mine. She decided to spend some time with her aunt and uncle, I was hoping by the time she came back we could get married.” 

“Did she want to get married?” Tobin wasn’t sure if she was allowed to ask questions here but she couldn’t stop herself. Jack finally looked back over at her, the cold smile she had been getting used to was gone. Now the spirit was sporting a much sadder look on his face.   
“Honestly, I don’t know by then I just figured that we knew marriage is where the two of us would end up. And when she came back, that’s what she wanted. She told me she was done with running and was ready to start a home with me. She didn’t want to wait she pushed for a quick wedding. And at first, I was thrilled, I couldn’t believe how it was all finally coming together, but then something felt off. She was pushing too much, and she finally told me everything.” Tobin was trying to put the pieces in place, she was confused why Veronica was so quick to change and want to get married and then it hit her. “She got pregnant. And you weren’t the father.”   
Jack was full on frowning at the tan woman now. Tobin could still see the pain in his eyes after all this time. “She had met a man that summer at her aunt and uncles, she said they had a brief romance that didn’t mean anything but that she was carrying his child. But she told me she came back because she wanted me to be the father, wanted me to be the man that took care of them.” He was silent for a moment. Tobin found herself pitying him a little. It was clear that he had truly loved Veronica.   
“You loved her, so you agreed.” He turned and gave her a brief smile before continuing, “Yes, it didn’t change anything for me. I still wanted to marry her, and I knew I could love that child because it would be a part of her. That would be enough for me.”   
“I thought it would be best for us to have a new start though, so I brought her to here after the wedding and then Frances was born. We were a very happy family. Until Evie showed up.” 

Tobin found herself understanding his anger and she worried that it would be too hard to convince him to let go now. He had been holding on to this for so long, holding on to Veronica for so long. “She wasn’t done wondering after all I guess.”   
He scoffed at her, “No, it seemed Veronica was incapable of settling. Or maybe I should say incapable of settling with me.”   
Tobin understood now, she could almost understand what Veronica was going through. Realizing how hard it must have been when she was alive. Desperate to find her safe place, her home when she wasn’t even sure what that was. “Veronica spent her life searching for a place to land, and she finally found it didn’t she? Except it wasn’t with you, it was with Evie.” For a moment, the hot, searing pain returned through Tobin’s chest and she tried to breath through it.   
It was suddenly gone, and Jack was now right in front of her. He looked down at her for a moment, He didn’t seem angry at her, he honestly looked a little defeated. “I was in this room the first time I saw them together. They would spend hours in that garden, and one day I caught them holding one another and kissing. I couldn’t believe it at first. And I wanted to confront them but then I realized I might lose her, so I allowed her to keep Evie. If she needed that to be happy, I could give her that, as long as I still had her.”   
“But you didn’t have her, not really. She was Evie’s the moment those two met.” He continued to stare at her before he slowly lifted his hand a grazed her cheek. Tobin’s entire body shivered, his touch was ice cold and she felt it down to her toes. “Do you think Christen feels the same way you do?” Tobin was confused now, was he really asking her about Christen’s feelings for her.

“Why do you care about that? It has nothing to do with any of this.” He stood back up and returned to the other side of his desk before sitting down and studying her. “You love her. I think if anyone can understand falling for women in that family it’s me. You’ve been desperate about her since you walked through that door. But will it matter once you leave here? Will she really want you out there, when she isn’t being hunted down by a vengeful spirit?” The cold smile was back, and Tobin could feel the threat in her bones. “I won’t let you hurt her. I don’t care what I have to do, no one is touching Christen.”   
“I found myself able to live with what Veronica was doing. She had her time with Evie, but she was still my wife living in our house. That was enough for me. I had fought so hard to just get us to this point, I wasn’t going to ruin it.” Tobin was getting whiplash from Jack, confused about where he was going with all of this and why he was so trying so hard to connect it to her and Chris. 

“I heard them one day, they were planning to leave. They were going to start a life together, the three of them. She was going to leave me behind after everything I did for her. I had loved her so fully, I left my home, I raised her child, I built us this home. I let her have a mistress. And it still wasn’t enough. She still couldn’t stay.”   
“So, you decided that since you couldn’t have her no one could? Except you didn’t count on Evie sacrificing herself. All Veronica ever wanted was a place to settle and breath and she finally had that with Evie, and you couldn’t let her go and be happy. You were so determined that she couldn’t be with anyone but you, so you thought killing her was the only answer.” Tobin felt the burning sensation coursing through her body again as she rose from the chair to face Jack fully. She tried to fight through it, but it was starting to make her sick and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand. 

“It was supposed to be me! I had finally gotten her, and I was losing her all over again. When Evie ran in front of her and took the bullet it hit me. I couldn’t believe what I had done, I came back here to calm down and try to figure out my next move. Then Veronica stormed in, the look in her eye. It was like I was looking at a ghost. I don’t even remember the pain of the bullet. The next thing I remembered was waking up here, it took me a while to realize I wasn’t alive anymore. I found Evie the same as me, all she told me was that Veronica was gone.” 

Tobin was desperately trying to fight through the pain as she felt herself get dizzy, “You took away the one thing she had always wanted. You took away her home.” She felt another blaze erupt inside of her and felt her body fly against the wall. 

“Tobin! Tobin can you hear me? Wake up please!” Tobin felt someone holding her face as she could hear Christen’s panicked force above her. She slowly opened her eyes to see worried green ones boring into hers. “Chris..Fuck what happened?” Christen seems to let out a tiny sigh of relief before running her hands over Tobin, checking for any signs of distress. Tobin slowly sat up, trying to get her bearings. “Be careful Tobin, are you hurt? Did you hit your head? Omg Tobs I was so worried!” Christen proceeded to slam her body into Tobin’s, holding on tightly. 

Tobin held on to the girl and slowly ran her hands down her curly locks. “It’s okay Chris, I promise I’m fine.” Christen leaned back to look at her face again, Tobin could tell she was trying to decide if she was lying. “What happened? Did you not hear us yelling or banging on the door? We were so worried, and then we heard a crash, and the door flew open and you were just lying here. Tobin it looked like you weren’t breathing.” Christen’s voice broke at the end and she clung back into Tobin’s embrace. “It’s okay, I promise Chris I’m okay. I didn’t even hear you guys, the minute I got in the room. I can’t explain it.” Tobin pulled Christen back slowly so she could look at her, she wiped away a few stray tears running down the beautiful women’s face. “Come on, lets go back to the living room and we can talk. I really don’t want to be in this room anymore.” Christen quickly nodded her head and jumped up. She leaned down to help Tobin slowly to her feat. When she felt sure Tobin was steady, she wrapped an arm tightly around her as they walked with Megan and Ali back to the other room. 

Once in the room Christen sat at Tobin’s side holding her hand tightly between the two of hers. Everyone else in the room looked at Tobin worriedly or curiously and it was beginning to make her uncomfortable. “Tobs what happened in there? I mean did you see Jack, did he hurt you, talk to you?” Megan was clearly dying to know the details of what when down in the old office. Tobin even felt a little bad she hadn’t found a way to tape the whole thing somehow for Megan to have. “Uh, well Jack wanted to tell me a story. So, that’s why he dragged me in there and then well I guess he didn’t really like what I had to say so he threw me against the wall. I never heard anything from you guys once I was inside.” Christen’s grip on her hand got even tighter.   
“This is all my fault Tobin, you would have already gotten out of here if I didn’t push you to chase down some fucking ghosts. I’m so sorry.” Christen barely spoke above a whisper. Tobin turned to her and used her free hand to lift her face towards her, “It’s not your fault Chris. I promise I don’t blame you. And it wasn’t that bad, I don’t think he had originally intended to hurt me at all, he just got mad.” Tobin slipped her hand out of Christens and pulled her close into her side before turning back to Megan. “It was weird honestly, he clearly wanted me to know about him and Veronica and what happened. But I don’t really know why he felt the need to tell me or why he keeps following me. I mean he brought up me and Chris but I don’t know.”

“He must feel connected to you Tobin, maybe it’s simply your feelings for Chris and his feelings for Veronica. He wouldn’t be so focused on you if there wasn’t something there.” Ali spoke up for the first time since the group had found Tobin. 

“She’s right. He sees himself in you Tobin, the way you’re willing to do anything for Christen. He was the exact same way about Veronica. I’d say he sees a kinship in you.” The group of women pause for a moment and realized none of them were speaking. They all slowly turn to find Evie watching the group. 

“What the fuck! Who are you?” Ashlyn quickly stepped in front of Ali, who simply laughed at her partner. “Babe she isn’t going to hurt us. She’s only radiating good energy.” Evie smiled sweetly at the couple before turning back to Tobin and Christen. 

“You really like to sneak up on people, don’t you?” Tobin tried to joke with the spirit. She gave her a small laugh before coming closer to the group. “Tobin, it was brave of you to face Jack, but I told you, you need to get Christen out of here.” Christen wrapped her arm around Tobin’s waste and allowed herself to get even closer to the older woman. “She didn’t want to leave, and I wasn’t going anywhere without her.” Evie gave her a kind smile before sitting next to them on the couch. 

“Christen, I’m sorry for not introducing myself, I just thought if anyone could get you out of here it would be Tobin. You two seemed so drawn to each other right away. It felt so much like the first time I met Veronica.” Tobin smiled sadly at her. “Look Christen, you need to listen to me or listen to Tobin, She’s right Jack had no intention of hurting her. I believe he might care about her. But I don’t know if she is enough to convince him to leave you alone. Please for all of us, you must leave this house. 

Christen finally looked up at Tobin giving her another apologetic look. “Evie, when do you get to leave this house? You’re doing all of this for her, you’re doing this because you love Veronica. Well, I’m doing this for her too. You deserve to move on, you deserve to find her again.”   
“Christen, I’m already dead. There is no life for me. I don’t even know where I would end up if I left here. But I do know that you deserve to have a full life. And you deserve to be able to spend it with someone that you love. I had that taken from me and I don’t ever want to see someone else go through that. Especially not you.”   
No one in the room spoke. Tobin glanced down at Christen and gave her a light kiss on her forehead. “Evie, you may be dead in this world, but your soul isn’t. And you know that your soul belongs with Veronicas. But you can’t be together until you move on.”   
“You two don’t realize the risk, Jack has been seething over this for 100 years, how on earth do you plan to convince him to move on? I assume that’s the plan, right? What if he refuses, what if you end up dead in the process?” 

“What if Jack hasn’t been seething or even waiting for revenge? What if he just needs closure from Veronica. What if all he needs is to find a way to finally let her go.” Evie continued to stare at Tobin clearly trying to decide how best to handle this dangerous situation. “And what if you’re wrong Tobin? What if all he wants is to hurt her? What then?” Tobin pulled Christen in tighter, “If he wants her, he’ll have to take me first.” 

“Okay, so what’s the plan hear Tobs, the last time you went to chat with the guy he locked you in a room and threw you against a wall.” Tobin glared over at Megan, even though she knew the woman was right. She was just hoping her instincts were correct on this. “Look, I think we all head to the garden, he should be weaker there and Evie stronger, plus he will make him half to face reality once and for all.” The majority of the group was looking at Tobin like she had grown a new head, as much as they were trying to trust her, they were worried how this all may turn out. Ali seemed to be the only one with real faith in her, Tobin figured it was only because she was allowing herself to embrace whatever the fuck was going on here. 

“Hey, you’re still going to want to take me out on that date after this right? I mean after making you stop a revenge filled ghost and all?” Tobin appreciated that Christen was trying to lighten the mood a little, she quickly pulled the younger woman in to her and gave her a quick but passionate kiss before whispering against her lips, “Try and stop me. I have so many plans already Chris.” Giving the woman one last peck the two pulled away from one another to join the group. 

“Okay, so what’s the plan here…” suddenly Tobin felt Christen jerked away from her. When she turned around, she found Christen with Jack’s arm around, grinning at the group.   
“Jack let her go. You don’t want to actually hurt her.” Tobin felt sick. All she could think about was not just getting Chris out of here when she had the chance. “Oh Tobin, how do you know what I actually want to do.” Tobin looked closely at the spirit, knowing she needed to do something quick.   
“Jack let her go. She isn’t Veronica. Don’t do this again.” Evie was now next to Tobin.

“You must feel so special Christen, Tobin barely even knows you and you’ve already got her hooked. Veronica was the same way. It was like a magical power, the way she could draw someone in before they even realized. But the problem with that is when you get bored you move on. What Tobin doesn’t even realize yet is that I’m doing her a favor.” Tobin was itching to jump forward, and grab Christen, terrified of what Jack might do. The rest of the group was frozen in fear trying to figure out a way where they could help the two women. 

“Hurting Christen is the worse thing you could do to me Jack. She isn’t Veronica. I know she broke you. I know that you gave everything for her, but no one is required to love someone else. It wasn’t her fault that Evie was the love of her life. You can’t keep blaming her for that.”   
“And what if she leaves you one day, what if you have risked all this? What if you spend all your life trying to give her the world, because I can see it in the way you look at her Tobin, that’s what you’ll do for her. And then what if she leaves? Finds someone new. I’m saving you from all the pain that I went through.”  
“Jack, how could you possibly know how Christen feels about Tobin. You’ve allowed yourself to see so much of yourself in Tobin that you are making Christen out to be Veronica. What you don’t see is the way she looks at her. I’m so sorry, that we caused all this pain for you Jack. Veronica never wanted to hurt you, she loved you so much, but we wanted to spend our lives together. You don’t get to decide who you fall in love with. Please let her go, she isn’t a part of this.” 

Silence. It was then that Jack drew a knife with his other hand. He looked at it for a moment before placing it near Christen’s neck. Tobin wanted to jump out of her skin, and she began to feel achy. “It wouldn’t matter.” The spirit looked at Tobin questioningly. “If I loved her and gave her everything and one day, she wanted to leave me, it would break my heart, but it wouldn’t change anything.” Tobin slowly began walking towards the two. “It would be worth it, the time I got to spend with her, being hers for only a day would be worth it all. If I have to go through that kind of pain one day just to have her for a little while, I’ll take every last moment. Please Jack don’t ruin another story. You didn’t want to kill Veronica, and you didn’t mean to kill Evie. You were just devastated by losing something you had fought so hard for. Please don’t take her from me, before I even get the chance to love her.” Tobin was only a few feet away now trying to decide if she was quick enough to grab Christen before either of them got hurt. Before she could make up her mind Christen was flung into her arms. She watched as the knife vanished and she held on to the girl like she would disappear if she let go.   
Christen held onto to Tobin but turned to Jack, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry you all couldn’t have your own happy endings. I wish there were a way to make any of this better. But you’re wrong. I’m not going to leave her. Now that I’ve found her, I’m never letting go.” Tobin held the girl tighter if that was even possible. She sent up a silent prayer hoping this was all about to finally end. 

Evie came closer standing next to Jack, “Maybe it’s time we get out of here. I don’t think we were meant to ever stay in this house as long as we have. Let go Jack, let us all finally move on from this.” Jack managed a small smile at Evie before walking closer to Tobin and Christen.   
Tobin eased Chris slightly behind her afraid the spirit had changed his mind again. Instead, he simply grazed her cheek again before looking at the two. “I just wanted her to love me, the way I loved her. I hope she’s telling the truth Tobin, because I promise it will hurt like hell if she isn’t.”  
Jack turned back around and walked to Evie. “I guess the house is getting a little worn, maybe there is something nicer on the other side.” He glanced one last look at Tobin giving her a wink and then he vanished.

“He’s gone. I don’t feel him anymore.” Ali spoke up, “I think he moved on.” She gave Tobin a small smile. “I think she’s right; I don’t feel him at all, in fact things feel lighter somehow.” Evie walked over to put a hand on Christen’s shoulder, “I’m sorry that we caused all of this for you. But I’m so happy the two of you have a real chance now. A chance me and Veronica always wanted.” Tobin smiled at the spirit before Christen let go of her to put her arms around Evie. “I’m sorry that you couldn’t have this, but I really hope you find her now. I know she’s waiting.” Christen gave her one last squeeze before returning to Tobin’s waiting arms.   
“Well, I guess I better hurry then, I’m sure she upset it’s taken me so long. She never was very patient.” Evie gave a small laugh before giving the women one last grateful smile and vanishing as well. 

“Pinoe, I sure hope you got something for your project, because I’m never going ghost hunting with you again.” The group laughed along with Tobin as Megan rolled her eyes and the brunette. “Oh, I don’t know Tobs, you might be the new ghost whisperer.” Tobin just shook her head before glancing down at Christen and allowing herself to give her a much longer kiss than before. The two women finally pulled away when they couldn’t stop smiling. The group headed inside to get their things when Tobin pulled Christen back to wait with her for a minute. 

“So, this date we were talking about?” Tobin lifted her eyebrows and smirked and the younger woman. Christen laughed and gave Tobin another quick peck on the lips. “What did you have in mind? You’re going to have to be creative you know. You can’t just take a girl to dinner and a movie after saving her life from a ghost.”   
Tobin pulled Christen into arms, finally allowing herself to relax and hope for a real future with this woman. “There might be a few things I’d like to do with you.”   
“Oh really? What did you have in mind?” Tobin just grinned down her and simply said, “Everything.” Before pulling her in for a searing kiss.


End file.
